April Love Showers
by Malfoy Mouth James- MMJ
Summary: All the prompts for Adrinette April posted daily. Lots of fluff. Lots of angst(?). Marinette and Adrien being the adorable, awkward dorks we know and love. And let me tell you, they're in love.
1. Day One: Just Friends

"Oh, Marinette?" Adrien said. "She's a really good friend!"

"Marinette's one of my good friends."

"Marinette is so cool, I'm so happy she's my friend!"

"Oh, no. Marinette is just a friend."

"You're such a good friend, Marinette." The smile on his face was bright and so, so beautiful that it sent butterflies rampaging in her stomach. But the words that came from those lips were less sweet. In fact, they murdered the butterflies in her stomach, turning them into a dead weight not appreciated. She forced a smile back, hoping he couldn't notice the pain in her eyes. If only he knew how badly she wanted to be more than "Just friends." She wanted to grab him and shake him silly until he saw how perfect they could be. Tell him that she was in love with him, and knew everything about him, that she wanted nothing more than to be his everything.

But she only said, "Thanks, Adrien," and swallowed the bitter tasting words down until they couldn't betray her.

Over and over she was referred to as 'my great friend, Marinette.'

But when Adrien cornered her after that stupid, stupid tv show disaster to ask her about her pictures, she still wasn't able to tell him, to correct him, that she didn't want to be 'just friends.'

"I-I… I'm ju-just a f-f-fan." She stuttered out, cursing her inability to make her feelings known.

Did she imagine it? The flicker of disappointment in his eyes at her answer? When he pressed further, did he really want her to change her answer?

She knows she should have, but also knows there was no way she could have.

All these months, he had been calling her 'just his friend, Marinette.'

So why did it hurt so badly when she said she was just his fan?

Surely it couldn't be that bad to have someone as amazing and talented as Marinette as his fan. She was a fan of his work, and wanted to go into that profession. Shouldn't he be excited that his friend thought so highly of him to have pictures plastered all over her room for inspiration?

Maybe it was because she was obviously a fan of his father's designs than his posing in front of a camera. Anyone could sit still and look pretty with the right makeup artist and lighting. Maybe it was because, just for once, he wanted someone to look at him, not his father.

Yeah, sue him, he had been hoping his wonderful friend had been looking at him. He doesn't know why he even let his hopes emerge. He was the black cat of bad luck. Nothing ever went his way.

He knew now, though; that he didn't want Marinette to be just his friend. He didn't want her to be just his fan. He wasn't sure exactly what he wanted from her, but he wanted more than her friendship, and he was gonna get it.


	2. Day two: Seat Buddies

**Seat Buddies**

When Marinette walked into the classroom with a large, pink, plaster cast on her leg, it was sad to say no one was surprised. Honestly, they had all been surprised the clumsy girl had lasted this long without a major trip to the hospital. Happily surprised, but surprised nonetheless. Unless their name was Chloe. She was happy now, watching her nemesis hobble around on some uncomfortable looking crutches.

When she walked in, the teacher gasped. Again, more out of pity than shock at the state of the girl. Giving her a sad smile, she told her to switch places with Nino.

'It'll be easier than the stairs,' she said. 'Safer for her,' she said.

She clearly didn't know that that meant Marinette would be sitting by Adrien. Where nothing would be safe or easy.

She had sighed inwardly at her fate, and shuffled onto the bench, propping her crutches against the table to her left.

"Hi, Marinette." Adrien said. "What happened? You're okay, right?"

She tried to answer him, really. But all that came out was squeaks and embarrassing gurgles as soon as she met his beautiful, concerned eyes. He turned around to look at Alya.

"I think she needs to go back to the hospital, she doesn't sound too great."

Alya snorted. "Adrien, she sounds like that all the time."

The bluenette gave a tired glare at her friend. She couldn't really be angry, it was entirely true.

She had broken her leg in the last akuma fight.

He had called himself 'Fix it Felix,' and walked around breaking things with his giant metal hammer. One of those things being her leg, unfortunately. It had not been fun. Chat Noir had freaked out, her leg was mangled, and miraculous ladybug could only fix so much of their injuries in the suit, hers less than her partners. She wasn't sure why; that's just how it worked.

"What happened?" The blonde asked again, leaning closer to look at her.

"A-a-aku-kuma at-t-ttack." She muttered, suffering from her Adrien-induced stutter.

"Oh, no!" He gasped, worried for his petite friend. "Marinette, you need to be careful! You should stay away from the akuma attacks; they're dangerous!"

She sighed, half out of adoration of his worry for her and half from resignation. If only she could stay away. She was just hoping now that no one would put two and two together and find out she was Ladybug.

That would be all she needed.

All day, he kept asking if she felt okay. If she needed anything, or wanted him to sharpen her pencil for her. Every time she gave a different stuttery version of her previous answer. And kill her now, when Kim got up and opened the window, she shivered. Adrien jumped into action, practically ripping his outer button up off to wrap it around her arms, asking if she wanted him to tell Kim to shut the window.

She could hear Alya's sniggering in her head almost as long as the blush lasted.

And the worst part?

She had at least another twenty-eight days of this before she went back to the doctor to get the cast off.

But when she walked into class the next morning to be met with Adrien's smile as he helped her onto the bench, she wondered if the everlasting embarrassment was worth it.


	3. Day Three: Embarrassing

**Embarrassing**

Their class was hanging out in the park, minus Chloe and Sabrina, who had decided it was below them. Nino, Alya, and Adrien occupied a small portion of the grass, hitting a volleyball between them while Kim and Alix, who were surrounded by most of the rest of the class, faced off in strength challenges. Marinette, Nathaniel, Rose, and Mylene were seated on or around a small park bench, talking about their latest art projects and such. The warm summer sun shone down on them all, causing most to break out the sunscreen.

Mari's freckles were full on raging now, causing Nathaniel to break out the ol' space face nickname again.

Marinette groaned when he slipped it in for the fourth time in the last ten minutes. "Nathaniel! Come on, it's not even funny anymore!"

Rose giggled. "I think it's cute!"

Now, there were a few things Adrien was able to hold onto in small portions while not in the catsuit, and enhanced hearing was definitely on that list. He didn't know why Rose's comment made him freeze up the way it did, but he soon forgot about the odd churning his stomach when the ball hit his unsuspecting face.

"Hey!" He snipped, catching the ball.

Nino laughed. "Bro, you don't wanna get hit, then don't keep staring off at the girls." Alya sniggered and high fives her boyfriend.

"W-what? I'm not staring off at the girls…"

"Uh, yeah, you are." Alya said, flicking her hair over her shoulder. "Everytime they laugh you look. Who is it exactly you're looking at?" Her smile grew devious. "Is it Marinette?"

"M-Marinette? No, I mean, I'm not looking at any of them!"

"Sure, sure." Nino soothed. "Can we just go back to the game?"

"Oh my gosh, look how cute he looks!" Mylene cried as Marinette stood back to admire her work.

"Pigtails fit you, Nath!" She said, laughing at the blush on the poor, abused boys face.

"Ok fine, I won't call you space face anymore. Can you take them out now?"

She paused to put a finger against her chin in mock thought. The wind teased through her now free hair, the hair ties were in Nathaniel's, drawing the boy's teal gaze.

"Nah."

"Adrien! You're gunna pop the ball if you squeeze it any harder!" Alya scolded. Adrien whipped his head back to look at her, angry scowl slipping away at getting caught glaring again.

"Sorry, Alya." He muttered.

"Look," she sighed, "If you're really that worked up and focused on it, you might as well just go over there. You don't have to stay here if it's really bothering you."

"Really? Thanks, Alya!" He said, throwing the ball to her before turning on his heel and starting towards the group on the bench. He didn't realize until halfway there that he had no idea what to say.

So he did the only smart thing to do, and went back to ask Alya what to do.

"What do you mean?" She responded. "Just go over there, and tell them what you're thinking."

"I'm not sure what I'm thinking."

She blinked at him before sharing a look with Nino. "Okay. Who are you glaring at?"

"All of them."

She raised an eyebrow as a smirk started to grow. "Who aren't you glaring at?"

Beat. "Marinette."

She clapped her hands, a full-blown christmas-morning smile on her face as her eyes twinkled dangerously. "Well, then! You just walk right over there, and tell them you want them to go somewhere else so you can hang out with Marinette!"

"Oh. Alright." That seemed simple enough. "But what do I do then?"

"What do you want to do?" She asked.

"Uh…" He thought about it. "I'm not really sure. I just want her to stop hanging out with stupid Nathaniel." He muttered.

She shrugged. "Then just tell her that. And you'll have to tell her why."

"I don't know why." He whined.

"Bro, are you jealous?" Nino asked, laughing at his friend.

"W-what?! No! Of course not!"

"Wow! Your drawings are so awesome! Can you draw me?" Marinette asked, bouncing around excitedly.

Nathaniel blushed bright red. "Uh, sure, Mari."

Adrien growled, glaring at them again.

"You're definitely jealous, Adrien." Nino said. "Don't worry, it happens to the best of us." He slung an arm around Alya's shoulder who rolled her eyes in turn.

"Go on, Adrien, before you pop a blood vessel in your eye or something from all this angry twitching."

So, once again, Adrien set out towards the giggly group. When he finally reached them they all turned to look at him, Mylene asking if he was ok.

"I will be," he said, "If all of you go somewhere else. I want to hang out with Marinette." In the back of his head he realized how whiny and demanded he sounded, and wondered if he was acting too childish. But for now he couldn't care.

"W-What?" Nathaniel stuttered. "But-"

"You've been hanging out with Marinette all afternoon; it's my turn."

Rose giggled behind her hand with Mylene before the two girls stood up and grabbed onto Nathaniel's arm. "Come on, Nath, let's go. Adrien wants aloooone time with Mari." Ignoring the boy's protests, the three finally left.

Once the bench was empty besides Marinette, Adrien sat himself down and looked at the bluenette with a frown.

"A-A-Adr-drien, w-wha-t's g-going o-on?" She stuttered horribly. Her face was bright red, and he worried she had a sunburn.

"Have you been using sunscreen, Mari? You look really red!"

She blinked at him with her adorable, slanted blue eyes. "Y-Yes." She squeaked.

"Alright, if you say so."

"Wh-what was t-that al-ll ab-bout?" She asked. Adrien was acting really funny, and she was almost embarrassed for him.

"You were hanging out with Nathaniel too long, I wanted to hang out with you."

She eeped, going three times more red, the blush spreading to her ears and down her neck. "Err…"

At her adorable, spacey expression, Adrien leaned forward and rubbed his cheek against hers.

"A-Adrien! Doing what are- I m-m-mean, what I you doing not- n-no, that's right not- errrr…"

To be completely honest, Adrien wasn't quite sure what he was doing either. He had a feeling it had something to do with Plagg and his stupid adopted cat tendencies, but he was too happy rubbing his chin along her jaw to think on it further at the moment.

Halfway across the lawn, Alya had her camera out, recording the whole thing while she sniggered with Nino.

"What is he even doing?" She asked.

"I have no clue, Babe." He said.

Everyone watching couldn't believe what was going on.

Satisfied with rubbing his face all over hers, which was really warm and he was starting to believe her less and less about putting on sunscreen, Adrien sat back.

But before Marinette could even finish her sigh of relief, Adrien had laid his head down on her lap, looking up at her with big green eyes.

"I wouldn't call you space face." He said softly, the warmth in his words melting her heart.

"I-I don't r-r-really m-mind…" She murmured, fighting the urge to brush back his fringe.

He frowned at her response.

She gave into the urge a few minutes later, when he hadn't said anymore and simply laid there with his eyes closed. When her fingers first wove through his hair his eyes flickered open but closed again in content as she continued. The lack of sleep from that week was quickly catching up on him, and soon he was fast asleep on the girls lap. By this point Alya had set her phone up to record on it's own while they all set bets on how long the two would sit there like that before Mari woke him up with a panic attack.

Alix won with a bet of fifteen minutes.

Adrien woke up and Marinette made some excuse about having to help her parents in the bakery, running off.

The group waited until she was out of sight before laughing and rolling in the grass.

"W-What?" Adrien grumbled, blushing profusely.

"Bro." Nino said, whistling. You should have seen Mari's face; it was so red! We thought she was going to pass out!"

"You were sprawled across her lap, practically purring for a quarter of an hour!" Alix cackled.

The boys face reddened further. "Was I really? Ugh, I can't believe I fell asleep!" He groaned, slapping a hand to his face.

"I think you did more than sleep, Dude. You practically made out with her face!" Nino was laughing his butt off, and so was half the rest of the group. Nathaniel was nowhere to be found, unsurprisingly.

"Wha-?"

"You were rubbing your cheeks and forehead all over her face, I thought she was going to spontaneously combust." Mylene said.

"It was pretty whack." Juleka said.

"Oh my God." Adrien groaned.

"Boy, that's pretty embarrassing." Alya grinned. "And I caught it alllll on video."

It was safe to say that the class teased him mercilessly for years.


	4. Day Four: Hide Me

**Hide me **

_(Cyborg AU) _

A soft pounding on his door woke Adrien up. Rolling over and blinking blearily at his clock, he saw it was only 3:24. Who the hell was knocking on his door at 3:24? He groaned and got up when the knocking failed to cease.

He turned on the living room light as he passed through on his way to his door. Peering through the peephole, his eyes widened and he rushed to open the door.

"Hide me." She breathed, her bright blue eyes as wide as the universe. He blinked at her, dumbstruck by the stained glass eyes and perfectly painted freckles looking back at him. Looking at the girl in front of him, he decided there was a God. Nothing this beautiful could have come from just two people.

He nodded brokenly, grabbing her arm and tugging her inside. He checked the hallway for any watching eyes before carefully closing the door.

He turned back to look at the girl who had randomly showed up at his apartment.

She was panting, her legs looking weak as she watched him with blue, blue eyes.

"What's wrong?" He asked in a whisper.

She brushed her blue bangs from her eyes which were flitting all around the room. "I need…" a heaving breath. "I need you to… Hide me." She said quietly.

"Why?" He stepped closer, and she shrunk back.

"I-" a sad look passed over her face and Adrien felt his heart tug painfully. "I'm sorry. She… She gave me this address, told me you would help me."

"Who?"

"I-I don't know." She dug around in her pocket before holding a slip of paper out to him with both hands. It was shaking so bad he had a hard time taking it from her.

He opened the paper and read the address, then the little swirly doodle down at the bottom. Alya.

He looked back up at the girl, and back down at the paper. "What's your name?"

"Ma-Marinette."

He blinked. "That's pretty."

Her eyes flew open wide, a cute pink flush exploding on her face.

"So… Why do you need me to hide you?" He had a feeling he knew, considering Alya had sent her, but he didn't want to assume. Not with her.

She clenched her eyes tight, holding herself. "Tests. I- There was an explosion. My parents-" She broke off with a sob, holding a hand up to her mouth. For the first time he realized that two of the fingers on her left hand weren't entirely skin. The silver metal glinted in the light from the living room.

"Shh, it's alright. I'll let you stay here, of course." He hurried to reassure her. "Hey, don't cry-" He reached out unsurely to set a hand on her shoulder, but before he could she turned into him, burying her face in his chest and crying. But even after standing there, his arms wrapped around her, for ten minutes, his shirt was still dry. No tears came out.

"I can't even cry anymore." She said, hiccoughing.

He rubbed her back, marveling at how real she still felt. He wondered how much they had changed, how much was still her.

"It's alright. It's alright. You're safe." He soothed, running a hand up into her blue hair, tucking her in closer. She was so small. Barely even half his width, and the top of her head only reached just below his shoulders. But she fit perfectly into his arms, and he wondered again why exactly Alya had sent this girl, Marinette, to him.

Whatever the reason, he was blessing her name.

Marinette pulled back some time later, rubbing at her face before looking down at her hand.

"How… How much did they…?" He asked, sharp pain in his chest for this broken girl in front of him.

Her left eye flashed briefly, almost unnoticeable. Were her eyes fake, too? That would explain their unreal color.

"36%." She said, poking at her metal fingertips. "Here." She pointed to her left hand, traveling up to just below her elbow. "Here." She started in the corner of her left eye and making a square out to her temple. "And the here." Her fingers traced carefully around the edge of her ear. "My leg and hip." She pressed a hand to her right hip, and then rolled her ankle. "And then some of the wiring from my spine into my brain, some of my lungs." Her cheeks were red with embarrassment.

"But this is what you really look like? Before the... ?" He trailed off, realizing it was a sensitive topic for her.

She nodded. "That they left alone. Some is new skin grafts, because of the burns, but… I can't even tell where they end and where I begin."

"It doesn't matter too much, though, does it? You're still… You."

That brought another round of heaving, dry sobs. "You don't und-dersta-and!" She cried. "How c-could yo-ou?"

Adrien blanched, looking at her with wide eyes.

"Hey, hey, hey! Shh! I'm sorry, I shouldn't have- Marinette, please-"

She started shaking. "Not ag-gain." She groaned, wincing.

"What… What's wrong?" He asked.

"W-when my emotions get too high… I-It tries to shut everything d-down."

"Oh." Shut down?

He stepped forward again, wrapping her in his arms. He didn't know how to help her, so he just held her close.

After awhile she stopped crying again, but he was too scared to look if it was because she felt better or if she had… shut down. So when she pulled back, sniffing and wiping her nose, he sighed in relief.

"I'm sorry." She said quietly.

"For what?" He asked, stunned. Why was she apologizing? He had been the one to make her cry.

"For showing up at your door so early and b-being a mess…"

"You're not a mess." He said quickly, before rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

"W-Wha…?" She asked.

"You're not a mess. You're really pretty. I m-mean- you're well, not that you're not pretty! I mean, you're not, you're beautiful! I- But like, I don't like you- oh my God, no! That's not what I- I do like you but like not like… I'm going to stop now."

She blinked at him a couple times with those two perfect eyes, and he half expected her to just silently walk out and not come back, consequences be damned. But instead she started laughing, arms wrapped around her stomach still as her shoulders shook.

"Thank you." She said.

And the smile she gave him, shy and looking up through her dark lashes, trying to hide her blush, was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Who knew how easily two words could change everything.


	5. Day Five: Clumsy

**Clumsy**

Marinette hated parties. She hated them. Especially ones being thrown by the Mayor, where Chloe would be flaunting about.

She hated them more when they were full of people, most of them drunk, bumping into people and spilling drinks everywhere.

And nothing was worse than being stuck at a full party thrown by the Mayor with Chloe running around amongst the drunk people, and getting a drink spilled on her.

She gasped and jerked back, looking down at the stained front of her sweetheart neckline, feeling the alcohol slide down her front.

The girl who had bumped into her giggled and hiccoughed. "I-I'm sorry!" And then she was gone again, like a hit and run.

Marinette groaned and made her way towards the tables to find some napkins.

A hand caught her elbow, and she whirled around to see who it was.

"Are you alright?" His voice was smoother than his perfect tan skin and deeper than his forestry eyes in a way that sent shivers down her spine.

"Y-Yes." She cleared her throat. "I'm alright. I don't know about my dress, though…"

"Come on, I'll help you wash it out."

"But-"

He tugged her along behind him and she took the moment to study him further. His blonde hair was expertly cut, slicked to the side with small curls falling around his ears and nape. The suit he wore was amazingly crafted and she couldn't help but wonder who had made it. The style of it fit him perfectly, too perfectly, to not have been designer made and tailored specifically for him.

Maybe he was a model. He was definitely handsome enough to be.

He pushed open a set of doors and led her into a long hallway. On the right were signs for bathrooms, and he tugged her towards the mens.

"Wait! I can't go in there!" She exclaimed.

"Don't worry, no one's in there because no one even knows they're here. Besides, you're just using the sink."

"Listen:" Marinette said, starting to wonder if maybe this was a bad idea, and she shouldn't have followed him blindly just because he had a pretty face and a nice voice. "It's really nice of you to want to help me out, but I'm more than capable to clean my own dress."

He let go of her arm, stepping back. "Alright. Well, here's the bathrooms, Little Lady." He said before turning and walking back out the way he had come in.

Marinette groaned again, just wanting to go home. But she was here because her boss told her to be, and she wasn't allowed to leave yet. 'Representation,' they said.

Representation, her ass.

She slipped into the women's, dampening a handful of paper towels and cleaning the stickiness of her skin and blotting at her dress. Seeing as both the dress and the drink had been shades of red, she didn't bother with it too much.

When she had procrastinated as long as she could in there, she went back to the party to mingle some more. It was the longest hour and a half of her life, but she finally gave up and went to the coat check.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng, please." She said to the waiter behind the counter. He nodded and set off to the back to retrieve her coat.

He came back fairly quickly, and she thanked him as she slipped the coat on and turned to leave.

And crashed into the person behind her.

"Damnit, I'm so sorry- I didn't know there was anyone behind me-"

"Don't worry, Little Lady." A familiar voice chuckled, and she looked up into the beautiful face of the stranger from earlier. "You're a clumsy thing aren't you?"

"Uh, y-yeah. Sorry. Uhm. I'm gunna go."

She hailed down a taxi and breathed a sigh of relief when one pulled over right away. Slipping into the back, she gave the driver her address and then reached into her pocket to pull out her phone. But her hand touched a piece of paper, and she pulled it out with a frown.

I apologize for my behavior earlier, but you enchanted me. If you would rather, I could take you at for coffee sometime. I promise there will be no bathroom rendezvous. ;)

33 52 77 07 92

Adrien Agreste

If the driver heard her choked shriek, he didn't mention it.


	6. Day Six: Secrets

**Secrets**

Agent Dupain-Cheng smoothed her bangs out and fixed her tie. Mayor bourgeois' second inaugural parade through the city would start soon, and she was supposed to be in the limo with him.

Along with Agent Agreste.

Don't get her wrong; she had nothing against Agent Agreste.

Except for that fact that he was perfect. And sweet, and smart, and handsome, and silly, and a nerd, and really, really funny…

And she was totally in love with him.

The two weren't usually paired together for things like this, seeing as sometimes she had a hard time functioning around him and his bright smile and big green eyes, and smooth blonde hair-

She huffed, snapping herself out of it for the fifth time that morning already.

She wouldn't have to sit next to him, thankfully. Each one of them would sit on one side of the Mayor.

A knock on her dressing room door made her turn. "Yes?'

"Ready in five."

"Yes, Sir."

She looked back in the mirror again, told herself she'd do fine, and left the room with a sigh.

They were not sitting on either side of the Mayor, it seemed.

"But, I thought we were flanking the Mayor, Sir." She said when the boss said they would be on the seat across from the President.

"That was the original plan, Dupain-Cheng, but we changed it."

She frowned, thankful for the large sunglasses that blocked her wary expression from the rest of them. "Alright, sir."

So she ducked into the back of the limo, Agreste following close behind. They waited in silence for a few minutes, the Mayor still not there.

He sighed and shifted to look at her.

"Alright, Dupain-Cheng. What's wrong? Did I do something?" He asked.

"W-What?" She spluttered.

"Look, you're a really nice girl, and super awesome, and I was hoping that we could be friends or something, but I've obviously done something to make you dislike me so much. It's not good for work, either. We can't work as a team when you try to avoid me or not talk to me."

She blinked at him, her mouth hanging open.

When she didn't respond, he kept going. "And, well. Ok. I like you, Dupain-Cheng. I was just hoping for a chance, here."

"A… Chance?" She squeaked.

"Yeah. To take you to coffee, or something."

"Are you- You're asking me out?"

"That depends; what's your problem with me?"

"I-I don't… I don't have a problem with you." she said, her voice almost whiny.

"Then why do you avoid me? I know you don't like being paired with me."

"I don't like being paired with you because you distract me!" She exclaimed suddenly, before gasping and shrinking back a bit. "I-I'm sorry, I mean-"

"I distract you?" He asked, a crooked smile stretching across his face.

"Like that." She grumbled, looking away.

"So… My face distracts you."

"Yes."

"Why?"

She glared at him. "You know why."

"No, I don't think I do, Agent Dupain-Cheng." He said, playing dumb.

She paused a moment to think about what to do next before she lunged forward and smashed her lips against his.

He immediately grabbed her hip with one hand, cradling her head close to his with the other. She sucked his lower lip between her teeth, bringing a groan out of the blonde.

They pulled away quickly when footsteps could be heard approaching. Marinette cast a glance at Agent Agreste out of the corner of her eyes before blushing profusely.

His normally slicked back hair was sticking up at random, and she was sure hers was the same. But when the door opened and the Mayor slid in, nobody said anything about their states.

The Mayor waved at everyone on the streets as they drove through, and Agent Agreste turned to her while he was distracted.

"So… Coffee?"


	7. Day Seven: Sweet Tooth

**Sweet tooth **

Adrien always thought his favorite smell was wintergreen. It was just a strong, soothing smell that had always been comforting to him.

He decided that his favorite smell was actually vanilla when they had been at the school park picnic, when Marinette had leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. She had brought with her a warm, light vanilla smell that had made him feel safe and happy.

After that, anytime he had the chance to get sweets, it was always something vanilla. Vanilla macaroons, vanilla ice cream, vanilla cake….

And he took any chance to be close to Marinette. It was because of her, after all, that he loved vanilla now.

It was a difficult job, considering she tried to avoid him as much she could. He was considering asking Alya for help, because surely she would be down for meddling with other people's lives some more. Unless Marinette really hated him, then she would probably make sure he couldn't get closer to Marinette.

So he threw that idea out and kept thinking. Plagg was no help, either. The only thing he provided was teasing comments about his 'girlfriend.' Which weren't helpful at all, because all it did was make him question his love for Ladybug. Who didn't love him back in the slightest. If only Chloe hadn't put that gum on Marinette's chair, maybe she wouldn't be so put off by him. Maybe if he had met her first, met Marinette before Ladybug, he would have fallen in love with her instead.

He wondered if he had spoken too soon when Plagg told him that having a crush on Ladybug hardly meant he had to only love her forever.

He thought about it that night at patrol, watching Ladybug as she gracefully swung over the rooftops. It was a dangerously windy night, so they stopped early. She turned towards him and he watched as the wind blew her pigtails around, hitting him with a small whiff of vanilla.

He coughed, feeling as if the air had been knocked from his chest. Immediately he thought of Mari. Did they really smell the same, or was he projecting things onto Ladybug now?

He shook his head and took off for the mansion without so much as a wave over his shoulder.

The next morning Marinette was later than usual, and when she finally busted through the class door, her hair was almost dripping. She must have taken a shower just before coming here. When she ran past me to get to her seat I was hit hard with the strawberry smell of her shampoo. He hurriedly ripped a piece of paper out and wrote a note on it, nearly throwing it at Alya when the teacher was looking at the board.

He waited for her to read it and respond. He heard her stand up quickly and address the teacher.

"Madame Bustier, I'm having trouble seeing. Do you think I could switch place with Adrien?"

He waited with bated breath as Madame Bustier turned around with a concerned look and nodded. With a smile he stood up with his bag and switched Alya seats, sliding in next to Marinette who gave him a deer in the headlights look. It dampened his smile only slightly, and he leaned in to whisper, "Hi, Marinette! I'm happy we could sit together, I like talking to you."

Her face turned scarlett as he tried to hold in the urge to smell her hair being this close.

"Talking, I like you! No! Er, I mean, of course I like you, you're my friend, but it's not like I like like you- not that there isn't a reason to! 'Cause you're really nice, and pretty… No! You're not pretty! I mean, you're definitely not ugly! I-I. You're perfect. I mean. Uhm." She made a couple choking noises before her head fell to the desk with a loud thump.

"Uhh… Marinette?" He asked, laying a hand on her shoulder carefully. "I think I broke her."

When Marinette got home from school that day, her parents asked why the words 'Mainette.exe has stopped responding…' were scrawled across her forehead in black ink. The only answer she had was that it was Alya's fault, and she didn't want to talk about it.


	8. Day Eight: A Favor Only You Can Do

**A favor only you can do **

Adrien hurriedly finished writing the letter with a flourish before folding it up and taking off through the front doors. He had half an hour before he had to be at the train station, and he had already gotten Nathalie's permission to run a quick errand before hand while she took his luggage up to the station.

He slid into the back seat of the waiting car and told his driver the address. His hands were slightly sweaty as he watched the city pass by outside his window. Too soon the car was slowing and he could see the Dupain-Cheng Patisserie.

He took a deep breath and looked down at the letter in his hands, questioning himself one last time of whether or not this was a good idea.

When he couldn't come up with a pro of never giving her this letter, never telling her how he feels, he opened the door and calmly walked up to the door. He opened it and walked in, greeted by the sweet smell of the pastries and sweet smile of Marinette's mother.

"Hello, Madame Cheng," he greeted, "Is Marinette here?"

She gave him a knowing smile, and he gulped. "No, dear. She's out with Alya now." Noticing the letter in his hands like the sharp woman she was, she asked, "Would you like me to give it to her when she gets back?"

"Uhm… Yes, please." He said, slightly downtrodden as he stepped forward and passed it over. "Thank you, Madame Cheng. Have a good day." And with that he was back out the door and in the car again. It had already taken off as soon as his seat belt was buckled.

He hoped Marinette didn't hate him after this.

When Marinette got home she was immediately met with her smiling mother and a letter. She gave her mom a suspicious look as she carefully took it, not trusting her mother's almost evil smile. She took it up to her room and set her purse on her desk, letting Tikki out and feeding her a cookie before she plopped down on her chaise to read it.

"OH MY GOD!"

Downstairs, Sabine Cheng giggled to herself, excited at the new prospect of her daughter's relationship with Adrien Agreste.

Upstairs, Marinette Dupain-Cheng was grilling her kwami.

"He likes me?! Likes me, likes me?! HE LIKES ME!" She shrieked and rolled off her bed with a thump, staring at the ceiling with the note held tightly to her chest.

Tikki flew into her charge's view, worried at her glazed over happy expression.

"Marinette…?" she asked, trailing off when the bluenetter didn't respond. The small red kwami sighed. "He broke my charge. I'm going to have to have words with Plagg; Again."

The following Monday morning Marinette was a mess. When Alya asked her what had happened she had only been able to emit a few squeaks and gurgly sounds. And when Adrien had walked over to them, his face slightly pink and his hand rubbing the back of his neck, Alya knew something was up.

"H-Hey, Marinette…" Adrien greeted.

Said girl made another gurgling noise, thrusting out a piece of paper to him.

He raised an eyebrow and took it from her, reading it over before looking at her with wide, hopeful, green eyes.

"Really?" Before she could answer he swept her up in a hug, spinning her around. She squeaked but didn't complain.

Alya got plenty of pictures.


	9. Day Nine: Birthday Gifts

**Birthday Gifts **

Adrien took his precious blue scarf from off the hook where it was hanging and wrapped it around his neck. He never left without it, when the outside was chilly enough to permit it, at least. He wished he didn't have to ever take it off, but also was afraid to wear it and somehow ruin it on accident. He held onto the end of it lightly, running his fingers over the soft, perfect stitches as he waited for Plagg to finish his breakfast.

Adrien frowned when his fingers came in contact with a bumpy part. He worried that maybe he had accidentally snagged it on something. But flipping it over, he saw that wasn't the case.

How he had missed it for so long, he would never know. But there, at the end in a darker shade of blue thread, was some loopy, curly stitching. It looked scarily familiar, and he felt his stomach drop.

Rushing out, he went to the room where his father kept a lot of the old shoot or runway items, and searched for something. It didn't take long for him to find what he was looking for.

Holding up the black, feathered hat next to the light blue scarf, he let out the breath he had been holding when he saw the identical stitched signatures.

Marinette.

Dropping the hat back on the shelf he had found it, he took off to find Nathalie.

"Nathalie!" He called, taking the stairs two at a time. Stopping in front of his father's assistant with a frown, he held the scarf out to her, shoving the signature practically under her nose.

"What is it, Adrien?" She sighed.

"Where did you get the scarf? Did Father really get it for me?"

Realizing what he was going on about now, her eyes widened and she had the decency to look ashamed. "No. It was dropped off by one of your friends."

"Who?" He asked.

She sighed and crafted her face back into a neutral expression. "The one with the pigtails."

Adrien looked to the floor, nodding. He knew that. She had signed her name on the scarf, just as she had with the hat. But if he hadn't found it, would he ever have known she made it for him? Why hadn't she said anything? He turned and ran back upstairs, grabbing Plagg and his bag.

He had a certain designer to talk to before school started.

When he got to school he scanned the sidewalk and front steps, wondering if she would even get here soon enough for him to try and talk to her before school started. Keyword try because she often got tongue tied around him or simply ran off.

She wasn't on the front steps, but he saw her talking to Alya in the locker room.

He walked up to the girls, frowning when Marinette froze at the sight of him. "Hi Marinette, Alya." He said, walking to his locker and opening it.

"H-H-Hi, Adr-drien." Marinette stuttered, closing her own locker. She paused for a moment before leaving, giving him the chance to stop her.

"Can I talk to you?"

"U-Uhhhh…." She said, staring at him blankly. He could practically see the steam rising from her ears as her brain malfunctioned.

"Bye Marinette, see you in glass!" Alya yelled, the door already closing behind her.

Adrien unwound the scarf from around his neck, feeling oddly bare without it. He flipped it over and held out the end with the signature for her to see, even though he didn't need to. He could see the recognition and- was that fear?- in her eyes. "You made this?"

She nodded, still looking at the scarf as if it had personally offended her greatly.

"For my birthday?" Another nod. Adrien sighed and looked off for a moment, trying to figure out what to say next. "When I came to school and said I had gotten it from my father, why didn't you say anything?"

He could practically hear her swallow as she kicked the tip of her shoe on the ground. It was an anxious tick that she often did around him, and for some reason it was almost calming in it's familiarity.

"W-Well, because… You looked so happy for once- not that you l-look unhappy! I mean, you do, but- I, er… Well. I-I figured that you would be happier thinking it was from your dad than if I went and corrected y-you. I didn't want to r-ruin your birthday."

Adrien looked at her as if he had seen her for the first time, and he felt like that, too. He had always known she was caring, but this was something else.

He placed his hands on her shoulders, ducking a bit to look in her eyes. "Marinette, you wouldn't have ruined my birthday. I had already been expecting nothing more than a stupid pen from my father, and it wouldn't have made a difference if I found out he hadn't bothered again this year. But I've never had friends before, no one else- besides Chloe, but she doesn't count- no one else has ever given me a gift just because they want to, not because they're expected to. It would have been the best birthday so far either way, Mari. You should have just told me; it wasn't fair to you." Standing up straight he pulled her in for a big hug with a smile. "But thank you, for caring so much."

She stiffened at first before almost sagging against him, wrapping her small arms around his middle in return.

"You're welcome." She nearly whispered into his chest, causing butterflies to awaken in his chest. He tightened his arms around her a fraction, never wanting to let go.


	10. Day Ten: Puns

**Puns **

There was a knock on the door and Marinette rushed over to it with a large smile. She opened the door to see the smiling face of her boyfriend.

"Hi, Bugaboo." He greeted, leaning in a pressing a quick kiss to her lips and then stepping out of the way so she could close the door.

She rolled her eyes at him and started towards the kitchen. "We're almost done making diner."

He nodded and walked into the kitchen with her, greeting her parents warmly.

"Adrien, would you mind pulling the bread out of the oven, please?" She asked the blonde.

He smiled at her and replied, "Rye not?"

Marinette groaned and looked over to her mother. She hadn't expected him to start in so soon.

This happened every time. They had been doing these diners every Friday night since Marinette and Adrien had first started dating- mostly to get Adrien out of his house and fed- and they were often filled with puns from the men and groans from the women. But not the good kind of groans.

"Please, not the puns." She said, giving Adrien a look.

"Why, do they bug you?"

"You use that everytime!" She gritted out as her father chuckled. "It's not funny anymore?"

"But it used to be? How lucky."

"Does that even count as a pun?" Sabine asked.

"Aw, don't be salad." Tom threw in while his wife cut up the stuff for the salad.

"Why don't we just stop having these diners?" Marinette asked. She threw away the egg shell she had just cracked and mixed the eggs into the rice.

Adrien mock gasped. "Meowch! I feel beat."

"Adrien." She groaned. "Stop. It's not funny." "No, it's punny." Her father respond.

"Two peanuts walked into a bar, and one was a-salted." Adrien said to no one in particular.

"Where do you come up with all of these?!" She demanded.

"Sometimes when life gets to feline a little overwhelming, the best solution is to paws and enjoy some a-mew-sing puns." He said, as if he hadn't even heard her.

"I'm not pawsitive," Her father started, making the girls roll their eyes already, "but this might be a clawful catastrophe."

"Oooh, good one!" Adrien cried, high fiving his girlfriend's father. "Hey, Mari." He said, turning to her with a smile she didn't like. Well, she loved it. He looked truly happy, but it meant nothing good for her. "What do you call a big pile of cats?"

She crossed her arms and looked at him. "A purramid." She deadpanned.

"Awe, Mari! Come on. Chirp up!" He said, sniggering.

She gasped in indignation and whipped a wooden spoon at him. "ONE TIME!" She yelled. "IT WAS ONE TIME, YOU STRAY!"

Her parents laughed at the two. Yes, of course they knew their daughter was Ladybug. And they had suspected about Adrien, but when Chat Noir kept showing up after Mari and Adrien had gotten together, they knew.

"Sorry, M'Lady. I couldn't re-hiss-t." When she threw something else at him he ducked and added, "Now, I'm by no means a scaredy cat, but you're freaking meowt."

Another high five between the guys while the women shared a look. Marinette grabbed a baguette and hit Adrien over the head.

"I am a purebread."

She paused, the kitchen silent while waiting for the next pun. But no one suspected to to come from Marinette. "Maybe that's why you have such a cat-attitude."

Adrien guffawed with a large smile. "You punned!" He wrapped her up in a hug and spun her around. "Yes, yes, can we be done now?"

"Anything the Lady wishes."


	11. Day Eleven: FaceTime

**FaceTime **

Marinette's phone rang, drawing the attention of her brunette friend.

"Is that Adrien again?" Alya groaned.

Marinette merely laughed. "Probably. I've learned to just kinda ignore him."

Alya gave her an ugly look. "You're ignoring Adrien Agreste?!"

"Alya, I have to! He facetimes me all the time, I can't always be on the phone with him!" The girls looked at her phone as it stopped ringing. Marinette let out a relieved sigh.

"I hate doing it, but if I don't, I'll never have my own time. Or Alya time." She grinned at her friend.

Alya shook her head slowly. "Yeah, girl, I get it. I'm still just surprised. When did this start?"

Marinette thought for a second, placing a finger on her chin. "I'm not really sure anymore. Sometime between that time your sister got akumatized and when I could talk to him face to face without going 'bleh herg ugh merg uhn.'" The girls laughed but were soon cut off by Marinette's ringtone again. Alya raised an eyebrow as they watched the phone buzz.

"When did he get so clingy? He must be really desperate to talk to you. Girl!" She whacked her bluenette friend's arm. "He likes you!"

Marinette blushed, looking down at her fingers. "No, we're just…. Friends."

Alya set a hand on her shoulder. "Girl. Don't be ridiculous!" She shook her friend. "He's totally into you. He doesn't call me or even Nino that much, and he hardly ever face times us! Girl, he wants to see your pretty face!"

That caused Marinette's blush to deepen as her phone started ringing for the third time.

She sighed as Alya spoke up again. "I think you should answer him and put the poor boy out of his misery."

As soon as Adrien got home from his shoot, he tossed Plagg a piece of cheese and pulled his phone out. Dropping down on his bed, he raised his phone directly above his head as he went to Marinette's contact and hit Facetime.

It had become a daily thing for him; Whenever he had free time he would facetime Marinette just to hear her voice and see her face. He didn't know when he had fallen for his clumsy classmate, but the point was he had, and he had fallen hard.

His phone beeped as it called, and he waited with a wide smile for her to pick up. Plagg burped on his desk and flew over, peering at his phone screen.

"Blegh. Calling your girlfriend again?" He snickered, the call falling and his screen going dark. Adrien groaned. Lately she had a bad habit of not picking up. He figured it was just because of all the things she was busy with, but a large part of him worried he was annoying her.

He worried his lip for a minute before hitting call again.

"You're hopeless." Plagg said, looking at him smugly. When the call failed again, Adrien tossed his phone down.

"She won't answer!" He just wanted to talk to her. Even in his worst funk Marinette had proved to be the best cure with her adorable freckled face and bubbly laugh.

Plagg rolled his eyes. "Why don't you try calling her again?" He said sarcastically.

Adrien glared at him. "You know what, I will." He picked his phone up and pressed the button one more time. This time, halfway through ringing the screen dinged and spaced out, showing Marinette with an eyebrow raised.

Alya popped into the picture and gave him an evil, knowing smile. "Hi, Adrien." She said. "I hear you've been religiously calling my girl."

"Uhm." He felt his cheeks heat up a bit and he laughed nervously. "Well, I just- uh, you know-"

Alya laughed and waved her hand. "I'm just pulling your leg, dude." With that, she disappeared again.

"What's up? Usually if I don't pick up the first time you stop calling." Marinette said.

He shrugged. "I was bored and wanted someone to talk to."

She smiled and shook her head at him. "I figured. You know, I'm sure Nino would be ecstatic to get a facetime from you."

"He would!" Alya confirmed from somewhere off screen.

"I know, I just... " He coughed and changed the subject. "So, what were you two doing?"

"We were watching Sailor Moo-"

"I'm coming over."

"Adrie-"

"Give me like, ten minutes."

"But-! Adrien! We're having a girl's night!" She yelled at him.

He paused, his second shoe already halfway on. "... Girl's night?"

"Yes." She nodded. "Only Alya and I."

"Oh. Fine." Adrien sniffed. "I'll… Have a guy's night!"

"Uhm, alri-" He hung up with a lead weight of guilt in his stomach. He always had a flare of dramatics, but he felt bad hanging up on her.

With the approval of Nathalie, Adrien made his way over to Nino's. He was received with a loud, "Bro!" and a large bro-hug to match. The two grabbed pizza and chips from the kitchen and made their way up to Nino's room, popping in a movie.

Adrien pulled his phone out, maneuvering to Marinette's contact.

"Bro. Put the phone down. We're having a guy's night!"

"But I want to talk to Marinette."

Nino looked at him for a moment and then sighed, pausing the movie. "Adrien. Can we have a real chat here?"

Swallowing down the cat pun, Adrien nodded. "Yeah. Is something wrong?"

"Look. It's real great that you're friends with Marinette now, but Alya and I can both tell you definitely want something more. Don't tell anyone I told you this, but Mari does, too. So please, save us all the pain and just ask her out already."

Adrien stared at his friend with wide eyes. "Wha-What?"

"You constantly call her, and if you're not talking to her, you're talking about her. Ask her out before Alya or I lose our minds. You two keep dancing around each other, and we can't take it anymore."

"Uhm." Adrien thought for a moment. Marinette, his girlfriend? Nodding, he clicked on the facetime button.

Nino groaned and face palmed.

When Marinette picked up, she looked slightly nonplussed. "What is it now, Adrien?"

"Do you want to go out with me?" He asked.

Her face screwed up in surprised confusion. "Wh-What?!"

"I'm going to take that as a yes, okay, bye Mari." He hung up and picked the DVD remote up, turning the movie back on.

Nino stared at him with his mouth hanging open, eye twitching.

"Did you just ask her out?"

"Yes."

"After four years of being oblivious?"

"Yes."

"Over facetime?"

"Yes."


	12. Day Twelve: Adrien’s Girlfriend

**Adrien's Girlfriend **

Adrien Agreste's Girlfriend Part II!'

Marinette stared in horror at the tabloid page that Alya had thrust right under her nose early Thursday morning at school.

"Wha-What?!" She squeaked.

Alya gave her a smug look. "So, what did you do yesterday?"

"N-Nothing!"

"That's not what this says."

Marinette groaned. "I- Well, I mean- I was… Ugh! I was at one of his photo shoots in the park yesterday and- and-! Well…" She sighed and hung her head. "Long story short; I tripped and fell on Adrien, like usual, and that happened. B-But I didn't know anyone got a picture!"

The classroom door opened and Adrien and Nino walked in.

Nino gave Alya a look and sat down with a quiet smirk while Adrien turned to Marinette.

"Hey, Marinette." Looking between the two girls faces, he could tell that they had already seen the tabloid. "I'm sorry about the picture thing… I didn't know they had gotten any."

"T-T-That's al-alrigh-t. I m-mean, who wouldn't want to be your girlfriend? Uh! I mean, ehe, not me- not that I wouldn't want to! I mean, I don't like you like that, but I! Well, you're really nice, and sweet, and smart, and-" Alya slapped a hand over her friends mouth, seeing no end in sight to her rambling this time. Indeed, she kept talking for a minute or so, only unintelligible noise coming out from behind Alya's hand.

Adrien chuckled, taking a seat but still facing the girls. "As long as you don't mind; I guess there's no use worrying about it because it's already been issued."

Alya laughed, almost manically. "You might as well just make her your actual girlfriend with how much Paris ships you!" Marinette squeaked and looked at her with wide eyes, her friend's hand still held over her mouth.

Adrien blushed and looked at Marinette.

"I'm just kidding, sunshine child." Alya laughed, finally removing her hand when she felt Marinette wouldn't open her mouth again.

The teacher walked in as the bell rang, causing the three to turn their attention to the board.

Marinette didn't pay attention, like usual. Instead, she was busy thinking about the tabloid page declaring 'Adrinette' as the new top ship of France. How they had figured out her name, she wasn't sure.

Adrien as well was too busy thinking about the tabloid to pay attention. And what Alya had said. Everyone in Paris thought he and Marinette were dating. And while he was in love with Ladybug, he also knew that Marinette was pretty amazing, and would be a perfect girlfriend. Apparently Paris thought she was perfect for him.

Sneaking a glance over his shoulder at the content looking bluenette, he wondered if maybe Paris knew what it was talking about.


	13. Day Thirteen: Good Luck

**Good Luck **

She was in love with a human.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Princess of Atlantis, was in love with a human prince.

The only person she told was Alya, when she had caught her up at the surface, watching him on a ship.

Her human Prince, as Alya called him, was absolutely beautiful. He had perfect blonde locks and tan skin from always being in the sun. His eyes, that she could tell from so far away, were bright. She couldn't tell what color they were, but she knew they were as handsome as the rest of him.

So when she heard that he would be going on a year long voyage, she took off and followed the ship.

She knew she would get in trouble for it. She didn't care. All she cared about was that she couldn't go a year without seeing her human Prince, and she wanted to make sure he was okay. The ocean floor was littered with ships from past crashes, and she refused to let him end up as just another skeleton at the bottom.

Anytime a storm came near, she calmed the waters to keep him safe, and if the winds failed she used all her might to use the waves to carry the ship, and when day came and they couldn't use the stars as a guide she again used to ocean to show them the way.

"It's really strange;" She heard someone say one day, their deep voice floating down to her. "I've never had a smoother sail."

She saw her human Prince come into view and waited with bated breath for him to speak. She loved his voice. It was like currents at night, smooth and calming, beautiful and cool.

"We must have good luck this time around."

She smiled. It was pretty good luck to have a mermaid as a ship's personal escort.

If only she could get on board; their luck would be unfailing.

She gasped at the idea. If she got onboard, she could finally meet her human prince!

So she set off around the boat, looking for nets. There were none down at the moment, but she knew that they would lower some sooner or later. All she had to do was wait.

She ended up waiting three days before they lowered the nets again, and she waited a little while so as not to seem suspicious, but she swam straight into the biggest of them.

She could hear odd muffled voices from above the water, and then the net was being raised up. When she was completely free of the water she wondered if this had been a bad idea as her skin constricted the slightest bit.

"What is it?"

"I don't know, but it's heavy."

They finally got her hauled on the deck, and then stared at her in silence. Their faces were in similar states of shock: wide eyes, open mouths.

And then her human prince stepped forward, and said, "I think I found our good luck."

When he didn't take another step forward, she held out her hand to him. He raised his eyebrows and looked around, before taking careful steps forward.

When he was in reach she leaned towards him as much she could and grabbed onto his jacket, dragging herself closer.

"Prince Adrien!" Someone yelled, a familiar voice. They raised a harpoon gun and she hissed, recoiling behind the blonde prince. She was afraid, yes, but she had also just learned her human princes' name.

Adrien.

He raised a hand. "It's alright. Lower it, Nino." He said. The man gave him a flabbergasted look before huffing, rolling his eyes, and putting away the harpoon.

Prince Adrien grabbed ahold of her elbows, holding her up. "What is your name?" He asked her softly, and she looked at him with half lidded eyes of wonder and adoration. "Princess Marinette Dupain-Cheng." She said, staring at his eyes.

She had been right. They were more beautiful than the most colorful gem in the deepest parts of the sea. Wonderful orbs made of sharp crystals of greens ranging from angry sea to palest of seaweed. He was beautiful.

He looked surprised when she tore herself from his eyes. "Princess?" She nodded. "Have you been following our ship?" She nodded again, to which he smiled. His smile was warmer than his skin and so bright she thought she'd melt immediately. "Well, then, Princess. I offer you my gratitude. You've been a great help to the crew and I."

She merely nodded in return. The feel of his hands against her arms was different from anything else. They were soft, and yet exponentially drier than any other hands she had felt before. And still… Gentle.

She frowned as a cough racked her body, gasping for air. Prince Adrien looked at her in shock before yelling orders at the man from before. He took off as the Prince swung her up into his arms and took her in the same direction. She gripped onto his shirt, coughing hard.

He held on as tight as she could with her arms slowly growing more limp by the minute as the Prince took the little steps two, three at a time, and turned the corners sharply.

And then she was being dunked in a small thing of water, and her lungs filled again, soothing the dryness of her throat.

When she felt better she popped her head back up from under the water and looked at the two men with her blue almond eyes.

"Are you alright?" Her human Prince asked.

"Yes, thank you." She said.

He frowned. "Why would you come aboard if you can't stay out of the water long?"

"Be-Because…" She thought for a minute. "It's good luck to have a mermaid on board."

He chuckled, causing her to blush and sink down to her nose in the water. "So do all mermaids just allow themselves to get caught in nets, then?"

"Well, no…"

"Then why did you?" She glanced between him and the darker man, Nino, who hadn't said anything but looked equally curious.

"I- I wanted to… Uh. See you."

"See… Me?" He asked, placing a finger on his chest. She sunk down to her eyes and nodded. She was sure her face was bright red, but when he was looking at her like that, with all of his attention and awe, she couldn't care.

"Alright." He looked to her soft pink tail. "But it still isn't very smart. Is there anyway you can stay out of water for more than a few minutes? I don't think it would be very nice to stay in this tub for too long. I-I mean! You don't have to stay long, you've seen me now, I'm sure you'd rather go back to the water now. Not that you have to! You've helped us out a lot, you have full permission to stay here as long as I like you- No! I mean, as like you long, no, uhm that's still not right, er-" He stopped talking when Nino hit him upside the head. "Ouch. Thanks."

She raised a confused eyebrow at him but didn't comment on it. "Well, there is one way…"

"Oh?" He asked, looking hopeful.

"There's… A pair of magical earrings. If I wear them, I can live on land."

"R-Really?"

Feeling less embarrassed she sat up more, leaning against the wall. When her hair moved and her chest was out in plain sight the men blushed and quickly looked away, not that she noticed though. "Yes. And there is a ring, the counterpart, that does the opposite. So, that is to say, any human wearing it would be able to live underwater while in contact."

She watched the thoughts flicker across her human Prince's face before he smiled at her. "Let's go find these earrings, then, Princess."


	14. Day Fourteen: The Valentine

**The Valentine **

The Valentine is how Alya and Marinette referred to the heart shaped poem Marinette had sent to Adrien for Valentine's day a few years ago. It was also how Adrien referred to the heart shaped poem he told himself was definitely from Ladybug.

Who might even be in his class, 'cause that's where he threw away the original poem. Only to receive another in reply that night without a signature.

This year, though, he was going to make sure his poem actually made it to Ladybug.

Or that's what he told himself.

Once again, he ended up getting rid of the stupid thing, thinking he always had the day of to come up with a better idea.

But when he got to school n Valentine's day with still no clue what to do, he decided to confide in Nino.

So he told him everything. How he had written a poem to Ladybug two years ago and somehow a Valentine had ended up in his mail as a perfect answer to it, but without a signature. Unless you counted the ladybug that had landed on it after he finished reading it.

Nino stared at him oddly for a minute before telling him he had no idea what to do. Little did he know a certain blue-haired pig-tailed girl sitting behind him knew exactly what to do.

When she knew Adrien would be at fencing practice, Marinette transformed into Ladybug and swung over to the Agreste mansion. Slipping through a window- that was thankfully unlocked for some odd reason- she landed on his hard wood floor without a sound.

Now to find that Valentine.

She searched his whole room before she found it propped up by his alarm clock, where she reckoned he would see it every morning when he woke up. She blushed at the thought and grabbed a pen from his desk, signing the poem finally.

She signed it as Ladybug, since that's who he thought it was from and seemed pretty happy at the thought. Maybe, even if it wasn't exactly what she wanted, she could be with Adrien as Ladybug.

Just as quick and silent as she had come in, she replaced the pen and Valentine before jumping back out into the cool Paris air.

When Adrien came home after fencing practice, he was covered in sweat and feeling worse than he had that morning. He had nothing, absolutely nothing to give to Ladybug for Valentine's.

He took a quick shower and changed into pajamas before settling onto his bed, picking up the heart poem. Even though it wasn't-

Signed.

The poem was signed.

Adrien launched forward on his bed, shrieking to his empty room. "But-! But it wasn't signed this morning!"

"Yeah, maybe she realized and came in today while you were gone to sign it."

"BUT IT'S BEEN TWO WHOLE YEARS!"

Plagg rolled his eyes and flew over there, reading the card. "Maybe she didn't think about breaking into your house to sign a Valentine the first two years."

Love,

Ladybug

A new year we may see,

My Valentine will you be?


	15. Day Fifteen: Love Rivals

**Love rivals **

Princess Marinette sighed, readjusting herself in the uncomfortable, straight back, wooden chair. She wanted nothing more than for the night to be over; to be able to get out of this restrictive corset and slump as unladylike as she wished in a hot tub of waters and oils and perfumes.

Looking out over the ballroom floor, she resisted the urge to curl her lip in disgust. The room was full of Princes, Lords, Dukes, Barons, and even Captains of Guards. Anyone who was anyone had shown up to win the hand of Princess Marinette of France in marriage.

And her parents were delighted!

Couldn't they see that this was terrible? That she didn't want to marry some random man for his benefits? She wasn't even sure she wanted to marry anyone at all. Couldn't she speak for herself? Make decisions for herself? She feared being tied to a tyrant.

All night long, men came up and bowed to her, spoke to her, and went on their way. None seemed to care that she barely paid them any mind, or that there were hundreds of others to come in after them. They all seemed haughtily confident that she would pick them, just because.

Except for one man.

He had her attention as soon as he was within sight at the end of the stairs. She watched him tug at his suit jacket, fix his medals, as the man in front of her talked. He shifted from foot to foot, looking around at all of the men around him. The first man she had seen all night who looked as if he might not win her heart, the first to look at the others as actual rivals.

Flicking her fan in front of her face, she waved her guard over. Making sure to keep her face hidden behind the fan, she whispered to her guard.

"Bring forward the man in the black uniform, with the medals and blonde hair." He nodded curtly and was off down the line, all the way to the bottom of the stairs. The man in front of her paused in his speech before picking back up, sounding less sure.

When the guard got to the man, he started and looked at him with worry. Most likely thinking he was being asked to leave. She watched as his face shifted into shock and hope at the news that the Princess herself had asked for him to come to the front. He looked at the men he was passing in an almost childlike wonder, and then he was right in front of her, his bright green eyes snapping to the fan in front of her face. She could see him through the almost see through material, but he couldn't make out her face.

He bowed low, lower than any of the others had as of yet. "Your Highness." He greeted, his voice deep and soft but shaky. He was nervous, and it made Marinette smile.

"Princess Marinette Dupain-Cheng, an honor." She said smoothly in greeting.

"C-Captain Adrien Agreste, of the French Royal Guard. And the honor is all mine, M'Lady." He said.

She giggled, fanning herself. "France?"

"Your name is spoken of in high esteem all across Europe." He said, looking at her with adoration.

"And yet no one even knows what I look like." She said slyly.

"I am sure you are the most beautiful." He said reverently, making her giggle again.

"Perhaps, but nearly as pretty as you."

She watched in delight as his face reddened and he looked at her in shock. "Th-Thank y-you, Princess."

Flicking her fan again, she hummed. "Indeed." She rolled her free wrist. "You came all the way from France to meet a princess who you know nothing about?"

"Yes. I- I had heard wondrous things of you and your family; I came to see them for myself."

"Oh, but you did not come to try and win the hand of the crowned Princess?"

He blushed again, fidgeting with the hat in his hand. "I… I did."

She opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off by a sharp horn. "The Mongols are here!"

Marinette gasped, standing from her seat. Her guards immediately swooped around her, and she looked over at Captain Agreste. He looked terrified so she motioned for him to join her.

"Do not worry. Our army is fully capable of holding them off. They have yet to break through our walls."

Now that they were on level ground with each other and she wasn't in a chair, she realised how much taller he was. The Captain towered at least a head and a half over her as he held onto her arm. She wondered how she felt safer tucked close to this stranger than with her own troop of highly trained warriors. Who didn't seem too happy with the Captain's level of familiarity with her.

They worked their way down the stairs as people ran from the hall.

"Where are we going?" The Captain said quietly, his mouth close to her ear. She held in a shiver and adjusted her fan so her face couldn't be seen.

"To the castle; it's safer there if they were to break through the city gates.

They watched as men rushed off towards the commotion, donning helmets and hefting large spears and bows.

Some greeted her as they ran by, saluting to their Princess and assuring her all was well.

They had almost made it to the ornate stairs that led to the huge, beautiful palace when the screaming intensified and another warning horn was blared.

"They have broken through the walls." One of the guards said gruffly. Marinette looked towards the gates, scared finally. Her city, her people-

The world swirled as she was lifted into the air and deposited in someone's arms.

"You four take her to the Royal safe room. Let no one in."

She turned to see who was holding her and her eyes widened when she came fan to chin with Captain Agreste. She was tempted to reach a hand out and trace his sharp, different features, but refrained from doing so as he ran up the steps with her and through the front doors. The other three guards slammed them shut and locked them tight before they were off again. The Captain of her own Guard led the way with the last two behind them. They passed many servants who looked at them with pure fear as the screams from outside filtered in. They hadn't even made it to the floor the safe room was on when a door some ways down the hall was thrown open, and men came pouring in.

"Retreat!" The Chinese Captain yelled as he pulled his sword out.

Captain Agreste turned on his heel and took off, breathing heavy.

"How fast can you run?" He asked.

She looked down at her shoes. "If I lost the slippers, faster."

He gave a single nod before ripping her shoes off and tossing them behind him. "It would be easier if you could lead the way. I'll only get us cornered." With that he set her down and took her hand, and they were off again.

She led him down hall after hall, taking the back way, only to come face to face with another Mongol soldier. She shrieked and swung her leg up, hitting him in the sternum. He grunted and stumbled, raising his sword. Captain Agreste twirled her behind him as they parried and she watched in horror. She flinched when a loud crunch filled the air, and she looked down at the fan she had dropped when she ran into the man. So much for hiding her face.

She looked around, spotting an old uniform statue and ran over, heaving the sword from its grasp. She grunted as she heaved it over her head, being quite shorter than the statue.

She ran back to the men, swinging her sword and slicing the backs of the Mongol man's knees. He fell with a scream, and Captain Agreste looked at her in astonishment.

"Y-Your fan-" He stammered.

She shook her head, pieces of her hair falling in her face. "We must keep going."

He swallowed and nodded, motioning for her to lead the way again.

She had never run with a sword before, and it was harder than she thought it would be. She also hadn't seen her parents since sometime after the ball had started, and worried if they were alright or not.

She didn't notice she was crying until the Captain grabbed her arm and stopped her, wiping the tears from her cheeks.

She looked up at him, straight into his green eyes with no barrier of a fan. She hadn't realized his skin was so light from behind the black and gold lace.

Throwing everything to the wind that carried the screams of her people she yanked him down by his uniform jacket and slammed her lips against his. He froze as she kissed him, but when she pulled away he pulled her closer and angled his head, kissing her back deeply.

She sighed into the kiss as her small hands worked up his shoulders into his oh so soft blonde hair. A color she never saw in her own country but now knew she loved more than any other.

When he pulled away he looked at her with glazed over half-lidded eyes and continued to hold her close by her waist.

"I was right." He murmured.

"Wh-What?" she stammered just as quietly.

"You are more beautiful than any other Princess I have ever met."

She blushed deeply, earning a wide grin from him. He reached out with a careful hand and traced a finger around her cheek.

"You have so many freckles." She hummed in response, too dizzy to form words. "Why the fan? Don't get me wrong; I feel happily lucky to be one of the few to see your face, but… Why keep it hidden?"

She bit her lip and looked down at her hands that were still clenched in his jacket. "Nobody is supposed to see it other than the royal family until I am married."

His mouth formed a silent 'o' as his face turned light pink. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." She swallowed down her nerves. "I was planning on accepting your offer for my hand either way, so it is no crime."

He froze, his arms tightening around her. "You- … You were?" He whispered.

"You were the only one who caught my attention." She said. "Or bothered to look as if this wasn't just another easy conquest for more power."

He cupped her face and pressed his forehead to hers. "You are more than just a means to power, Princess."

"Thank you." She breathed, holding onto him tightly. If someone had told her she would fall in love with someone by the end of the night, she would have scoffed. And she did scoff, when her parents told her as such that morning.

He leaned in and pressed a kiss to her cheek before reluctantly pulling away. "We should keep going."

She nodded but kept a hold of his hand. It was warm and held hers perfectly.

They made it to the safe room and got the door open by the time the Emperor and his wife came down the hallway.

"Marinette!" Her mother called, wrapping her into a hug.

"Maman-!"

"We saw your slippers, and then your broken fan-" her mother cried, holding her tight. "We thought-!"

"Shh, Maman. It's okay." She said, rubbing her back. "But we should move this into the room…" Her mother sniffed and nodded, pulling away. They turned and stopped, looking at the Emperor glare down the French Captain.

"Papa-" Marinette started.

"Who are you?" Her father nearly growled.

"He's-"

"Marinette, stay out of this."

"But-!"

"Maybe it's best we leave the men to talk it out." Her mother said softly, laying a hand on her daughter's rm while they watched.

"What were you doing with my daughter?" The Emperor growled, towering over the Captain who was debating cowering.

"I was told to take her to the safe room-"

"By who?"

"The Captain of your guard."

"Where is the rest of her guard?"

"We got separated- the Mongols-"

"I don't believe you."

Marinette opened her mouth to say something, but her mother shook her head.

"But, Maman-!"

As her father tugged out the sword at his hip, Marinette tore from her mother's grip, hiking up her skirts and jumping in front of Captain Agreste.

"Papa!" She yelled, halting the man with his sword halfway over his head.

"Marinette-! What did I say?"

"Papa, you're not listening! He's telling the truth!" At her father's stern look, she continued. "He's the Captain of the Royal Guard of France, and when the Mongols attacked I had him come with me. We got split up and sent in here while the others held everyone off. But then they- they broke in through the doors and we had to retreat… I don't know what happened to the others." She looked down at the ground solemnly.

Her father sighed and sheathed his sword. "And your fan?"

She winced. "I dropped it and it got stepped on." At her father's glance to the man behind her, she quickly added, "But it's alright! I-" She looked over her shoulder at the Frenchman. He looked back at her with his deep green eyes, and she strengthened her resolve. "I wish to marry Captain Agreste, Papa."

Her father stared at he with wide eyes and open mouth. "But-"

"Tom! Let the girl be! This is what we told her to do, no? She actually found someone!" Her maman said sternly.

The Emperor cleared his throat. "Right. Of course, Dear." He reluctantly held his hand out. "I suppose that means I have to let you live now."

"Papa!"

The Emperor laughed and shook the Captain's hand happily, the gruff act gone now.

"As long as my daughter is happy, we are happy."

Adrien nodded quickly. "I'll do nothing if not serve your daughter, Your Highness."

"Just Tom, Dear." The Empress corrected. "You are to be family now. This is how our family is run."

"This… Is all well and wonderful, but don't we have an… invasion problem right now?" Marinette pointed out.

"Right." Tom said, leading the way into the safe room and sealing the door behind everyone.

Marinette turned to Adrien, stepping closer to him for comfort.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

She nodded. "I'm just… Worried."

He held his arms slightly open and she flung herself into them, relishing the way he cradled her in close.

"Don't be. The Captain of the Guard in France just got engaged to the Princess of China; I'm sure the grand Chinese army can beat some smelly old Mongols."

Marinette giggled. "You must not have crossed paths with the Mongols before." She said. "And we're technically not engaged… yet."

He tightened his arms around her, smiling into her dark hair. "Then I can't wait."


	16. Day Sixteen: Beach

**Beach **

When Adrien had agreed to go to the beach with his friends, he hadn't known he was also signing a waiver for his life.

Everything was fine, completely a-okay. Until Marinette and Alya showed up, that is. More specifically, until Marinette took her shirt and shorts off.

The girls had showed up in plain summer shirts and shorts which they took off when they got to the spot the boys had claimed. Of course they took them off; people don't swim in nice shirts or jean shorts. They swam in bathing suits.

And Marinette's bathing suit just so happened to be black with little green paw prints on it and a tiny golden bell in between her-

Well.

Adrien shook his head, mentally slapping himself. Get your head out of the valley- no! Gutter! Head out of the gutter!"

"Alya," he heard Marinette call. "Can you help me put sunscreen on my back?"

The burnette snickered and grabbed Nino's arm, throwing a, "Have Adrien help you, we're going swimming!" over her shoulder.

The remaining two friends looked at each other, blushing deeply and quickly looking away.

"Uhm, do you w-want help?" Adrien asked, wondering why he always had the worst luck. Not that he thought it was bad luck to have to help Marinette! She was great! And, who was he kidding, he'd willingly die to trace the dip of her waist, the swell of her hips, the freckles on her shoulders-

"Well… If I don't put it on, I'll crisp. S-So I g-guess so."

Adrien nodded before gulping and making his way over to her. She slowly passed over the tube of sunscreen and he squeezed some out onto his hand.

And then he was looking directly at the back of one of his best friends without anyone watching. He forced his eyes to stay above the waistline of her bottoms as he started smearing sunscreen on her. At the first touch she shivered, and he told himself it was just because the sunblock was cold.

Even though it wasn't.

He took a deep breath before quickly swiping his hand under the tie in the middle of her back. He didn't want her to get burnt if it slipped around later. He tried his best to ignore the little gasp that came from her at the action.

"There." He croaked. "All done."

"Th-Thanks, Adrien." She said, turning around to take back her sunscreen. Only to come face to face with his bare chest. She 'eep'ed and snatched the tube from him, quickly twirling away again.

"Do you w-want me to wait with you while it dries, or…?"

"No, it's okay." She said, trying to hold herself together. Adrien was happy to see she was just as affected as he was. "You can go ahead; I'll come in later."

Adrien nodded and took the chance to throw himself into the cold water. It worked just as well as a cold shower.

Needless to say, Adrien had to help Mari with her sunscreen five times before they left for home, and they were dating by the third time. And if anyone thought it was fake when he got knocked down by a wave and needed CPR, no one called him out on it.


	17. Day Seventeen: Confession

**Confession **

"I fell for you when you told that mugger to pick on someone his own size, and then proceeded to beat him up even though you were three feet shorter than him."

Marinette stopped mid-step. When she didn't say anything, Adrien continued.

"I fell harder when you broke his nose and told him to have a taste of his own medicine." She turned slowly to look at him, her blue, almond eyes wide as she waited for him to continue.

He took a deep breath and gave her what she wanted. "And again when you told Chloe that nobody gave a rat's behind who her father was, we just wanted her to leave."

"And every other day in between and since. Marinette Dupain-Cheng, I am completely enamored and in love with you, and I just needed you to know."

He waited for a moment, hoping for an answer.

Her eyes flickered to the ground, and he felt his heart crack.

Nodding dejectedly, he turned to leave.

"I fell in love with you when you handed me your umbrella on your second day of school."

Adrien stopped dead in his tracks, a smile stretching across his face as he turned back to face her. "And again every time I saw you smile for real. And when you made me a lucky charm for my birthday, I fell even harder." She took a deep breath and face him completely, her shining blue eyes meeting his. "I've loved you almost since I met you, Adrien Agreste, and I can't imagine my life without you."

"Then we agree." He said, stepping closer to her.

"Yes." She whispered back, tilting her head up to keep eye contact as he continued coming closer.

"Can I kiss you?" He murmured almost against her lips.

"Yes."

So he did.


	18. Day Eighteen: In The Rain

**In The Rain**

Adrien was on his way home from hanging out with Nino when he found Marinette. At first he didn't recognize her, the way her shoulders curved in and she wiped at her face as she stood under an awning. He couldn't remember the last time he had seen his strong friend look so broken.

"...Marinette?" He asked softly, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.

She jumped, looking up at him with wide eyes that she furiously wiped at. "Oh. H-Hi, Adrien," she sniffed.

Frowning at her attempts to hide her tears he leaned down to be eye level with her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing… I'm okay."

Adrien straightened and looked out at the street, watching as cars splashed through puddles with their wipers going fast. Why was she standing out here in the rain all by herself?

He sighed. "I've been around girls enough to know when they say they're 'okay' they're really not."

Marinette looked up at him with her watery blue eyes for a moment, her lip quivering. Half to comfort her and half to get her sapphire eyes out of his line of sight before he did something stupid, he swooped her up into his arms. He cradled her head into his chest as she cried.

It tore at his heart to listen to her hiccoughs as she shook in his arms and gripped at his shirtfront. He would do anything to make her stop crying and get her smile back. Whatever had made her so upset must have been bad because she was usually so in control of herself, especially in public. When he found out who had hurt her, there would be hell to pay. His arms tightened around her and he waited for her to calm down.

Some time later her crying had subsided and she pulled away. "S-Sorry…"

"Don't be sorry." He said quickly. "Don't forget that I'm here for you, Mari." He didn't miss the way her eyes flickered when he said that. She nodded.

"Now, are you going to tell me what's wrong, or should I start jumping to terrible conclusions?"

The got a half chuckle out of her as she gave him a small, watery smile. "I guess…" She took a shaky breath and looked at the ground. "It's just- It's Luka and my's anniversary, and we were supposed to go out to eat, but he called and said that he forgot he had to go to a rehearsal dinner for a birthday tonight."

"Oh." Adrien said. So it was Luka making his Princess cry, hu? "I'm sure he didn't mean to hurt you, Mari." He tried to soothe while swallowing down his anger at the guitarist.

"I know he didn't but... " Another exasperated sigh. "He does this to me all the time. We never do anything anymore because he always has some band thing to do. And I know all about forgetting, so that's why I write everything down on the calendar! It's like he doesn't even care…"

Adrien felt his anger curdle in his stomach as he listened to her talk. "If I was him I'd skip every band rehearsal for you. You're more important than a stupid guitar, Marinette." He said, placing his hands on her shoulders and looking into her eyes.

"Thanks, Adrien." She looked out at the rainy sky and sighed. "I might as well walk home now before it gets dark."

"Why not take a cab?" He asked. Was she really going to walk home all alone in this?

"It's not that far and I don't really have the money to spare for a five minute cab ride that can easily turn to thirty in traffic."

Adrien nodded and popped his umbrella back open. "Come on; I'll walk with you."

She stared up at him and his umbrella with wide eyes and pink cheeks. "Y-You don't have to…"

"I know, but I want to. I'm not going to let a pretty lady walk home all by herself, that's not safe. And especially in this rain? You and I both know you'd catch a cold."

He held his arm out to her, trying to stuff down his inner suave cat. She giggled and took his arm.

"Well thank you, kind sir." Adrien hummed in response and they started off.

"So tell me, do I need to knock some sense into this boyfriend of yours?"

He immediately regretted bringing it back up when her smile fell away. "No… It wouldn't help anything. It's not right to bring other people into our problems. It's just- ugh! It's like he never listens! He always says he heard me but then he'll go and ask me about the same crap or forget that I told him I had somewhere to be. I swear the only time he wants to make time for me is when I have my own stuff to do. It's not like I make my hours. But he does, and I don't know why he doesn't make them for around other stuff. He always just does whatever he wants to and expects me to shove everything around for him but he won't do the same for me."

Adrien stayed quiet and listened to her rant as they walked. He could tell she needed it with how she rambled on and on. He wondered briefly if she had talked to Alya about it and then decided that she hadn't otherwise the man would have already been dead.

"And he's always saying that it's okay, or that we'll find some other time to relax together. Or that he made some brand new song for me, and how it's going to be the 'star of the show,' as if I want to hear any of that! He never says what I want him to, because he never pays attention."

Adrien stopped, causing Marinette to stop as well and look up at him.

"Adrien?"

"He's just stupid, Marinette, and you deserve better than him!" her mouth formed an 'o' as he continued. "Why do you stay with him if he acts like you're opportunity cost?"

"Wha-?"

"You're so much more than a second choice! You're amazingly brilliant and driven and beautiful and funny and the most caring, kind person I have ever met, and he should be thanking God every day to even know your name!" He was yelling at this point, drawing odd looks from passersby. Marinette was looking at him as if he had just told her he was a serial killer. "I don't know if any of this is what you want to hear but I think it's what you need to hear. He's not good for you, Mari. You need someone who treats you like a darn Princess and puts you before their crap. He's supposed to love you more than his band, and that doesn't seem like what he's doing. I can't believe he left you just waiting at a restaurant all by yourself. Doesn't he realize how many guys would do anything to have your affection? He's lucky no one has come by and swept you off your feet yet, and he better watch himself or I might just have to."

Marinette stared at him in silence for a few moments before shaking her head. He opened his mouth to argue but she cut him off.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to hear that."

Her words made his pride swell. "It's too bad for Luka that he hasn't said it yet."

She shook her head again. "I mean, how long I've wanted to hear you say that."

That rendered him speechless this time. "R-Really?"

"Adrien, I've loved you since we were in lycee." She murmured.

"You've loved me this whole time?"

She nodded, looking off as her cheeks reddened.

Adrien dropped his umbrella and grabbed her face, ducking to look her in the eyes. "Why didn't you tell me?" He asked with a wide smile. Her mouth opened and closed as she looked for an answer. "You have no idea how much it's been killing me since you and Luka got together. I've been hoping he would take a long walk off a short cliff, or maybe lose his passport and get stuck in some other country or something! If I had known you weren't happy with him, I would have pushed him off a cliff myself. The only reason I didn't say anything was 'cause I thought you were happy with him."

She reached up and held onto his wrists, her tiny hands barely even encompassing half of their width. "My bad." She said with a smile. He ignored the way the water made her red dress cling to her skin and instead breathed out a laugh, pressing his forehead against hers and closing his eyes.

"God, Mari. We've wasted so much time…"

"It's alright; we still have the rest of our lives to make up for it."

He pulled back and brushed her wet bangs out of her eyes. "How should we start?"

"I heard Andre was hanging out by the Eiffel Tower today."

Adrien grinned brightly. "Perfect."

Little did she know he wasn't talking about Andre's ice cream.


	19. Day Nineteen: Akumatized

**Akumatized **

In which Chloe is being a $!u and Gabriel and Marinette gets Fed Up which leads to Mari being #Triggered with a capital T, and Gabriel is @Marinette, Thank God and akumatizes her Copyright and Marinette is a Big Mood when she snatches Adrien up faster than you can say, 'first, let me take a selfie.'

Marinette growled and gripped her pencil tightly in her hand, watching with clenched teeth as Chloe hung off of Adrien's shoulders.

"Who does she think she is?" Marinette ground out. The pencil in her hand splintered at the pressure from her grip, causing Alya to flinch.

"Uh, Girl? Not that I don't totally agree, but uh… Don't you think you're being a little… Crazy?"

"Crazy?" Marinette repeated, her eye twitching as a manic smile stretched across her face. "Never! What's crazy is that Chloe thinks she can get away with- with- Manhandling Adrien right in front of me! As if I would ever stand for that!"

Halfway across Paris, Gabriel Agreste couldn't help but agree. Don't ask how he knew what was happening if you want to ever have any semblance of privacy again.

He wouldn't let Chloe get away with treating his son as she had been, and he sure as hell wasn't letting her get in the way of his OTP…

So he quickly pressed the squares on the portrait of his wife that activated his Gru elevator down to his lair, and called for Nooroo.

"Darkwings, rise!" Doing an overdramatic twirl with his hands making flowy motions around him he turned into Hawkmoth and held a hand out for a single white butterfly.

Once it landed on his palm he cupped his other hand over it, willing darkness into the butterfly's very being.

"Go, little akuma, and evalize her!" He cried, basically throwing the akuma into the air. He watches through the akuma in excitement as it landed on the Dupain-Cheng girl's pencil.

"You Too, I am Hawkmoth! I give you the power to put Chloe in her place in return for-"

"Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculous? Done."

"Wha-? No. In exchange for Adrinette to finally become canon." Hawkmoth corrected.

"Oh, you too?!" Marinette chirped.

"No, that's you!"

"I know, but like, you ship it too?"

"Oh, yes, of course. Who doesn't?" Hawkmoth answered snootily. "Anyways, hurry up. Just look at that abomination."

"Yessir, Hawkmoth Sir. You know, I like you a lot more now."

"Perfect."

"What?"

"Nothing. Now go, You Too!"

Marinette was drowned out in a bubbly, purple fog and replaced with a girl who looked Harley Quinn-esque with the long, crooked pig-tails that sat high on her head and the creepy grin plastered on her pale face. Except, her pigtails held the two ends of the pencil she had broken, now turned into long, sharp stakes. Her clothes had been replaced with a knee-length sweetheart neckline dress that, upon closer inspection, was covered in pictures of Adrien Agreste. So basically, a dress that any fangirl would kill for.

"I AM YOU TOO, HERE FOR CHLOE BOURGEOIS AND ADRIEN AGRESTE. SO IF YOU WOULD KINDLY HAND THEM OVER SO I CAN GET TO SHAMING HER AND MARRYING HIM…" She yelled as she stood atop her desk.

The glass stared at her in wide-eyed shock and fear, quickly shoving the two that had been asked for towards her. Everyone knew Marinette could be scary enough on her own; Hawkmoth had been psychotic in akumatizing her.

No one made a move as You Too scooped up the two blondes (one screaming and one swooning) and jumped out the window.

She floated down to the ground, landing gracefully.

"Wow, Marinette!" Adrien sighed, hearts in his eyes. "You're so awesome!"

"It's You Too, now." You Too said suavely.

Chloe scoffed and flicked her ponytail over her shoulder. "Ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous!"

"I'll show you what's utterly ridiculous, Chloe." Marinette giggled, taking off towards the Eiffel Tower. Once there, she jumped up through the supports, landing on the lower observation deck. There she set down Adrien, instructing him to stay there. When he nodded with a dopey smile You Too took Chloe and pulled the pencil pieces from her hair, now the size of large knitting needles, and drove them through the shoulder pieces of Chloe's jacket so that she hung there. All she had to do to get out was shimmy out of her yellow jacket, but she wouldn't because it was a long drop to the ground.

Chloe shrieked and thrashed around, but at the sound of ripping seams, she fell still again.

"Ugh! How dare you? Do you know how much money this jacket costs? Do you know who my father is? Do you-"

"Oh, shut up already!" You Too said, ripping the pencil with the graphite tip out and scrawling a sloppy 'Crybaby' across the girl's torso. She gave another undignified shriek that You Too ignored as she slipped back to the inside of the tower to find Adrien exactly where she left him.

"Let's go, Adrien. We don't need to worry about her anymore."

"I'll follow you anywhere, You Too!" Adrien said dreamily. He hadn't known that Marinette cared so much about him to get akumatized for his sake. And to think, he had thought she hated him this whole time! Marinette was so cool and pretty, and Adrien couldn't say that he hadn't nearly died when she had carried him across Paris. His Marinette was so strong! He couldn't believe that he owed Hawkmoth now. If only he knew who he was so he could thank him profusely…

Meanwhile Hawkmoth was content with letting Chloe suffer through her punishment for getting handsy with his son and left Adrien in the capable care of Marinette because dangit, he wanted those little half French, half Asian grandchildren who were sure to be the most adorable in all of Europe. And so help him if Marinette 'Rising Fashionista Star Who Would Put Him Out Of Business' Dupain-Cheng wasn't going to be his daughter-in-law. She would make sure his company lived long after he was gone because, let's face it, it would die in the hands of his only sun shine child. So Gabriel finally retired from being Hawkmoth and turned in his Miraculous in order to devote all of his time to planning the future wedding with Tom and Sabine- who he finally met- over macaroons and tea.


	20. Day Twenty: Hamsters

**Hamsters**

"Marinette!"

Said girl stiffened at the sound of her crush's voice and slowly turned around. He was running over to where her and Alya stood with a shoe box in his hands.

"A-Adrien?" She stuttered as he came to a halt in front of her, not even out of breath.

"Look what I found!"

She gave him a way look and reached out to take the box. Cautiously she lifted the lid.

And squealed excitedly.

"Oh my gosh, Alya look, ohhh he's so cute!"

Inside the box was a little hamster, nestled in a small bundle of cloth. It looked up at the two girls, squeaking excitedly back at them as they cooed.

"Do you want him?" Adrien asked.

Marinette's head snapped up to look at him.

"Wha-What?" She asked.

"My dad told me I wasn't allowed to keep him, something about him being allergic," he muttered, rubbing at his neck with a frown, "so I need someone to take him."

"O-Oh." She blinked at Adrien a couple times. "I'm not really allowed to either…"

"I'll take him!" Alya said. "And you guys can just come over to my house whenever you wanna see him!" Alya winked secretly at her bluenette friend, her smile screaming to them that she was busy scheming.

"Okay, awesome! Thanks Alya!" Adrien cried.

"Yeah, dude, no problem." She smiled big as he walked away and then whirled towards Mari.

"Girl, you owe me big!"

It would seem Marinette did owe Alya big, because for the past three weeks whenever Adrien was free he would pick Marinette up, andt they would go over to Alya's house to play with the hamster. Which, by the way, the girls let him name Fred.

Why he decided on Fred, they didn't wanna ask.

"He likes you a lot more than he likes me." Adrien pouted as once again Fred ran to Marinette to get away from Adrien.

Marinette giggled, making Adrien's cheeks pinken. "I wonder why?" She said, picking up Fred and scratching his head with her pointer finger.

Probably because I'm Chat Noir, Adrien thought with a pout.

"Because everyone loves you, Mari!" Alya laughed, discreetly watching Adrien. She grinned wickedly when she saw his cheeks flush and his eyes narrow in what she was going to label as jealousy. "Isn't that right, Adrien?"

"Uh- Y-Yeah." He coughed.

It was true, he figured. Most people did love Marinette. It was a given considering how kind and amazing she always was. He had a feeling that even Chloe had a sweet spot for the pig-tailed girl, no matter how deeply in jealousy it was buried.

Watching Marinette play with the hamster, he wished he had found the little bugger sooner. He hadn't realized before just how nice it was to simply be in the bluenette's company and now he couldn't remember how he had lived without it.

When Marinette and Alya went to grab snacks some time later, he scooted closer to where Fred was sitting.

He reached out and lightly petted him before he scurried away. "Thanks, little buddy." Adrien whispered, missing Alya's devil worthy grin behind him.


	21. Day Twenty-One: Nightmares

**Nightmares **

Chat Noir sat atop a roof and watched as Marinette walked on the dark sidewalk below. He had been trailing her for a couple streets now, since he noticed her walking home while on his patrol. Ladybug wouldn't be happy he had left his post, but he had business with this civilian. Patrol could wait.

She turned a corner and he followed, silently vaulting between roofs. He waited until she crossed over into a darker part of town before jumping down behind her.

She didn't hear him at first, continuing on her way wherever she was going. It seemed as if she had no destination in mind; just aimlessly walking farther and farther from the city.

Before long they were so far from any other person that if she were to scream, no one would hear.

And that's when he pounced.

"Cataclysm." He whispered dangerously to the night, only the stars above seeing as he launched towards the girl.

She turned when he was almost upon her, almond eyes wide in terror and betrayal as she raised her arms to defend herself. It was a mute effort.

The black spread across her skin from where his fingers touched, mottling her skin and sending it off in the cool breeze. With nothing but a handful of her white shirt in his hand he-

He shot up in bed gasping for air and clutching a handful of his own shirt.

Plagg lifted his head and eyed him worriedly from his nest in the trash bin but didn't say anything. He watched as his chosen launched himself from his bed and shut the bathroom door behind him. The faucet turned on and Plagg got up, shooting through the door to check on him.

"Adrien…?"

Said boy had his hands braced against the counter, head hanging low. Water dripped from his nose and chin where he had splashed his face with it to erase the feeling of the nightmare.

The kwami floated over to him, watching warily before he threaded himself into his charge's hair. Plagg kneaded Adrien's head, purring sadly to try and calm him.

"I-I-" He choked out, gripping the counter so tight his knuckles stretched white. Adrien gritted his teeth and clenched his eyes as tight as he could, fighting against the tears that still worked their way out.

"It's ok, Adrien." Plagg said. "They all have them. It's only a dream."

"But it f-felt so real." Adrien whimpered.

Plagg patted his head soothingly. "... Who was it?"

"Wh-What?"

"In your dream. Who was it?"

Adrien took a deep, shuddering breath before answering below a whisper. "Marinette."

Plagg nodded knowingly to himself. He guessed as much.

"Why did I have the dream, Plagg?" Adrien cried. "Why do we all have them?"

"It's a powerful thing, to hold destruction in your fingertips. It haunts the best and the worst of us. It just means that you care about Marinette, is all. Sometimes it's surprising who it is, but I saw this one coming, kid."

"Of course I care about her; she's my friend…" Adrien said, his voice weak.

Plagg flew out of his hair, hovering in front of Adrien's face now that he was coming down from his panic. "Kid, you and I both know she's more than that."

"But, Ladybug…"

"Is your partner. She's strong and has a near indestructible suit. In fact, I don't think Cataclysm even works on other Miraculous holders. But Marinette is your small, caring, civilian friend, who might be more than just a friend…"

Adrien made another broken sound deep within his chest and wondered how he was going to be able to face Marinette after his nightmare.

The answer: He wasn't. All day at school was spent avoiding her, even if it tore him up inside. But he needed time. Time to forget her pained expression and time to remember it was only a dream.

Time to figure out why it was her and not Ladybug, who he had thought he cared about more than anyone else in the world.

It hurt, avoiding her like he was. All he wanted was to wrap her up in his arms and bury his head in her shoulder. To never come out. But he didn't even trust himself anymore. He wanted to stay as far away from her as possible, to keep her safe. Even if it was only a dream, it still tore him up inside every time he thought of it.

But what hurt him more was the look on her face every time he turned and ran away from her. Because it was real. It wasn't just some nightmare his dream had fabricated. He was the cause of her mixed expression of pain and sadness.

Alya came up to him at lunch, asking why he was being so rude and distant with them. Apparently in order to avoid Marinette, he had been avoiding them all like the black plague.

His only answer was a look of shame directed at his shoes, to which she responded with a huff as she walked away.

"Why don't you just talk to her?" Plagg groaned to him in the empty locker room. He had asked to be dismissed early, making some lame excuse about a photo shoot. But in reality, he just didn't want to run into any of his friends at the end of the day.

"I can't, Plagg, and you know it." He closed his locker and swung his bag over his shoulder. He turned to leave and Plagg flew around in front of his face.

"Why not?"

Adrien shook his head, swatting the kwami out of the way. "It's too soon." A beat. "And I'm afraid."

"Why?"

Adrien sighed, letting his bag slump to the ground. "I'm scared I will hurt her. Like you said, Ladybug has a Miraculous to protect her; Marinette doesn't. She gets hurt enough as it is from her own bad luck, and she would be better if she just stayed far away from me."

"But don't you see that you're already hurting her, acting the way you are?" Plagg reasoned.

"She'll get over it." Plagg snorted. "She will. She never liked me all that much to begin with, and before she knows it she won't even care anymore."

"I doubt that." Plagg said. "You really don't get it, do you?"

"Get what?"

Plagg sighed. "Adrien, you need Marinette. It's why she was in your nightmare. It's how it always works. And avoiding her isn't going to do either of you any good, because it goes both ways."

Adrien scoffed. "Marinette doesn't need me; she doesn't need anyone. She's so strong and good…"

"You're wrong."

Adrien started, whirling around to see her standing awkwardly in the doorway to the locker room.

"I do need you, we all do. I'm… I'm not as strong as you think, Adrien. Everyone needs somebody." She took another step in. "It's okay to need people, but you have to ask for their help. We wanna help, Adrien, but I need you to tell me what's wrong."

She had never spoken so much to him before, unbridled and without tripping over her own tongue.

"M-Marinette-" He said, voice cracking. His chest felt tight, standing so close and yet… So far.

She came a couple steps closer. "Did I… Do something wrong?"

"N-No!" He said. "I-"

She sighed, looking off to the side. "Adrien, I'm trying to help, but I can't do anything for you if you don't… Don't tell me what's going wrong."

"Everything." He said quietly. "Everything is going wrong."

She crossed the rest of the space between them and wrapped him up against her chest.

"It's okay. We can fix it, I promise."

He didn't know how she was planning on doing that, but he let the words settle him. He trusted Marinette, and knew she would never let him down.

Plagg was right: he did need Marinette. But he didn't need time anymore.


	22. Day Twenty-Two: Aged Up

**Aged up **

Marinette had never had a harder time finding a place to transform. When the akuma alert went off she got swept into the group of her class, and then she got stuck in the crowded streets. She couldn't just, transform in the middle of the street, which seemed to be where the akuma was herding anyone it could.

It was like shooting fish in a barrel.

She watched as it shot beams of light at people at random, replacing them with older versions of themselves.

The akuma cackled. "Try to tell me now that ten years isn't long enough!"

Marinette rolled her eyes. She figured the akuma had been some kid wanting to do something only to be told by her parents she wasn't old enough. She wished the people of Paris could learn to keep their emotions under control. It's not like they didn't all know that when they got upset they could get akumatized.

She shrieked and jumped out of the way when the person next to her got hit with a beam. Looking around for the akuma, she hoped it wouldn't hit in the same place right away.

But, of course, it did.

She looked around with wide eyes, completely disoriented. One second she had been stuck in the crowded street and the next she was in an unfamiliar apartment-

"Marinette?" A voice asked from another room. She started and tried to think of where she might have heard it before, but couldn't place her finger on it.

"Is everything-" and that's when Adrien frigging Agreste stepped into what she assumed was the living room of her older self's apartment.

Her eyes blew wide and she shrieked, causing him to shriek back.

"WHAT THE-!"

"OH NO, OH CRAP!" Adrien grabbed at his hair. "I FORGOT ABOUT THAT STUPID AKUMA, OH CRAP! NO WIFE NO LIFE!"

"WHAT?!" "The akuma! The one that was switching everyone with their older selves!" He yelled back at her.

Marinette blinked at him a couple times, trying to calm her breathing. It's okay; it's okay! She was only in the apartment of herself ten years in the future, standing in the living room with a much older Adrien Agreste who looked like a god or something, but hey, everything was ok.

"Hey, hey, hey! Mari, don't freak out! It's okay!" Adrien said, putting his hands on her shoulders. "Chat Noir and Ladybug will fix it soon I'm sure and then you'll be able to go back and-" He was cut off by a shrill scream from the direction he had come from.

Marinette's eyes widened impossibly further. "Is that…?"

"Uhm." Adrien said, looking back at her with equally wide eyes.

She took a moment to actually look around the room, noticing the pictures on the walls and the stuff on the shelves. And then finally Adrien's left hand on her shoulder and the shiny ring on his finger-

"OH MY GOD!" she shrieked. She was married to Adrien Agreste!

"No, no, no, relax! Please don't freak out! Everything is fine!"

"I MARRIED ADRIEN AGRESTE?!"

"Well, yes-"

"AND WE HAVE A BABY?!"

Adrien winced. "Yes…"

She shrieked again.

A few minutes later she found herself sitting at the island in the kitchen, looking at a pile of mail on the counter. At the name on half of it.

Marinette Agreste.

How had she done it? She almost wished this had never happened; that she had never found out. What if it ruined her chances for when it was supposed to happen? What if her knowing ruined it and they never actually got together? What if-

"Hey, I know that look." Adrien said with a frown as he walked back into the kitchen with a baby in his arms. Her gaze zeroed in on the little boy with the dark, wispy hair and green eyes.

"Oh my gosh…" her head hit the counter with a thunk.

Adrien couldn't find Ladybug anywhere.

He ended up having to transform back after using cataclysm to get the people out of the square and hadn't retransformed yet. If there was no Ladybug, what was the point?

"Adrien!" Someone called, her voice ringing a bell in his head. He knew that voice, and yet he didn't. He turned around and looked for the source of it, and it took him a second to recognize her.

"Marinette?"

She ran over, stopping next to him. Her hair was down to just below her shoulder blades, pig-tails nowhere to be found. "Hey! Some akuma, right? I totally forgot this was supposed to happen."

He blinked down at her, confused. Marinette never ever talked to him. What happened in the next ten years to make him her best bud?

"Adrien? Hello?" She asked, waving a hand in front of his face.

"Oh, right. Sorry." He frowned at her. "I'm still taller than you."

She huffed. "Really?"

"S-Sorry! I didn't mean to- Uhm." While she definitely hadn't grown anymore vertically, the same couldn't be said for… Ahem, other areas. It's not like he meant to notice how much wider her hips were or how her waist had somehow literally disappeared-

Marinette sighed and snapped her fingers in front of his face. "My eyes are up here, Agreste. I'm ten years older than you right now."

His face flamed. "O-Oh, right. Sorry."

She waved off his apology. "Look, I know you're Chat Noir, and I know who Ladybug is, but I really need to get back. So if you could try to grab the akumatized item while I find Ladybug, that would be great."

"Wha-What?! You know who- what- How?!"

She waved him off once more. "Schematics. Anyways, I've got a baby who's gonna wake up from a nap anytime now and a husband who still doesn't know quite what the hell he's doing, so if we could hurry this along-"

"Right! Right, sorry! Ok. Uhm. Yeah." With that he took off, transforming in the first alley he came across.

Marinette knew he was Chat Noir.

Marinette knew who Ladybug was.

In ten years, Marinette was going to be, well… Hot.

And married. And a mom.

He wondered who her husband was.

"Oh, for goodness sake, give him here!" Marinette cried when Adrien fumbled the bottle for the fourth time. He winced and clumsily passed the baby, who she learned they had named Hugo- Hugo!- over to her along with the bottle.

Settling little Hugo into the crook of her elbow she used the hand of the same arm to support his back and bottom. She picked the bottle back up from where she had set it on the counter and tipped it to the crying baby.

As soon as the milk started flowing he stopped crying, looking up at her with big green eyes.

Glancing up, she saw that Adrien was looking at her with the same big green eyes.

"I don't get it! How does that even work?"

Marinette giggled. "I've been babysitting Manon for years now, I've had lots of practice."

"That's what you always say, but it still doesn't answer my question." He grumbled.

She shrugged carefully and checked the bottle, tipping it a little farther.

She still couldn't believe it. In less than ten years she'd be married to Adrien Agreste and-

She was going to be a mom.

Marinette had always dreamed of having kids- three, to be exact- but now, holding the baby she was definitely having at some point, was unreal.

She chanced another glance at Adrien. He was focused on Hugo with a content smile that melted her heart. She married him. She married him.

Her eyes grew comically wide. He married her.

"Marinette?" Adrien asked in concern at the look on her face. "Not again. Look, you gotta stop freaking out on me! You're starting to worry me."

"S-S-Sorry."

"Ah, the stutter." He flashed her a crooked smile that made her face burst into flames. "I miss that sometimes."

She grumbled something under her breath and then looked back down at Hugo. The bottle was almost empty and she tipped it just a little farther one last time to keep him from getting full of air bubbles.

"So…" she started awkwardly. "h-How did, uh, th-this happen"

"The baby?" He asked with a raised eyebrow and smile. "Well, you see-"

"NO!" She yelled, before quickly soothing the angry Hugo. "I m-meant uh, th-that." She motioned with her head towards the ring on his finger.

"Ah." he said teasingly, raising his hand up to study the band. "It actually started because of this akuma attack."

Ladybug finally showed up about five minutes after he split up with future-Mari. Who, by the way, Chat was having a hard time not thinking about.

His friend had always been pretty, but the girl he just talked to…

She wasn't pretty. She was gorgeous. So gorgeous, in fact, that it took a couple minutes for Chat to realize that his Lady wasn't the same anymore, either.

"Y-You too?" he asked, tripping over his feet and almost face planted.

"Yeah. it's why I was late, I'm really sorry."

"N-No problem…" Why did her suit have to be so skin tight?

She shot him a look, a single eyebrow raised and a slight tilt to her lips.

"I-I said that out loud, didn't I?"

"Yup. Oh, and just a reminder, your suit is just as tight."

"Wh-What!?" He looked down quickly, but was relieved to see nothing, erm… Well, you know.

"Don't worry, you've still got a couple of safe years." Ladybug teased, zipping off towards the akuma with her yo-yo.

Her suit was different, too. She had plain black boots now that went up to her knees. A black strip went all the way around her very, very tiny waist and up the middle of her back. And her hair was longer. But instead of the regular pig-tails, she had it wrapped up in two Sailor Moon type buns, the ends flying behind her as she flipped through the air.

He was going to be in so much trouble in a few years, with the mask and without.

Marinette blinked at her future husband. "Seriously?"

"Yup." He said with a solemn nod. "I was incredibly jealous. And when I found out that you and Ladybug were the same person-"

"WHAT?" She nearly shrieked. Hugo fussed and squinted at her.

"Yeah, anyways, after that I didn't have to decide between the two of you and it was pretty easy after I found out that you had a major crush on me." He said, smiling brightly.

She groaned. "How did you find out?"

"Well, I found out you were Ladybug when we got stuck in a closet by an akuma and your earrings ran out. And then I asked Alya for help and she told me flat out that I was a moron and didn't need her help, because you were already madly in love with me." With that he sent her a wink that left her weak in the knees.

"O-Oh."

Hugo grumbled and she was thankful for the distraction, placing the empty bottle on the counter and carefully adjusting him to be pressed to her torso. She carefully rubbed at his back, pulling forth a burp after a minute or so. The kitchen was awkwardly silent as she burped Hugo and Adrien watched, still trying to figure out all that was a baby.

Chat Noir cursed as he was thrown up against a wall for the third time. "Why is she so hard to fight?!" He stood, brushing dust off from his suit and joining Ladybug's side once more.

Ladybug shrugged. "I'm as lost as you are, Kitty." She threw her yo-yo up in the air. "Lucky Charm!"

She groaned as a q-tip fell into her palm. "Are you kidding right now?"

Chat sniggered, earning an exasperated glare.

"Oh hush, you stray." She looked around. She gasped, her face lighting up with an idea. Chat was extremely happy to see that at least some things wouldn't change. He was starting to worry he would have emotional whiplash after this. Or something close to that. He wasn't too sure.

Ladybug turned to tell him her plan, and didn't see the blast coming towards her.

"Ladybug!" Chat yelled in warning, but it was too late.

Ladybug only had time to see the blast coming and mutter an explicitive before she got thrown back into a light pole.

"Ladybug!" He yelled again, running over to her.

The akuma cackled. "That's right, Kitty! Go run to your precious Ladybug! Now, sit still…" She aimed her next blast at him but he rolled right under it.

"Are you alright?" He asked his partner. When she looked up at him and nodded he was surprised to see she looked different again.

"Chat? What is- Oh." She sighed and took his proffered hand, letting him help her up. "This thing."

"Tell me about it. I've been fighting it for almost three hours now, and I keep losing my Ladybug as soon as we get close. Ladybug finally had a plan and then she got zapped again, and here we are."

The older Ladybug seemed- based off of his own age, anyway- to be somewhere around thirty-five. For someone in their supposed thirties, she still looked very young and happy.

"Alright, then. I've got a pot on the stove, three rampaging kids, and a sewing machine to get back to so let's do this as quick as possible."

Chat gave her a funny look. "You were doing that all while suited up as Ladybug?"

"Oh, no! Of course not; that would be silly. I was trying to pick up my husband from work- his car broke down and I couldn't find my keys- when the last Ladybug got zapped."

Adrien looked up, glasses slipping down his nose, to see Ladybug tapping at the window to the lab. He quirked an eyebrow and went to the window to open it up.

She smiled and slipped in. "You're lucky your Ladybug got close enough that I could figure out she was headed this way."

"Is it time for that akuma already?" He chuckled, packing up his stuff and slipping his glasses into his case.

"Yup. Car break down again?"

"Double yep. Lose your keys again?"

"Most likely."

The two laughed as Adrien slipped his coat on. "I forgot how little you've changed since we were twenty-five." He said as she slung an arm around his waist and hoisted them out the window. She tossed her yo-yo somewhere off in the distance and started for home.

She looked at him for a second before throwing her yo-yo to another building, swinging through the air. "You look a little different. When did you get glasses?"

"A couple years ago. It's from all the computers I have to work with." He said with an eye roll.

"And your hair is lighter."

He shot her a teasing grin. "That's your fault, having all these crazy kids."

She laughed. "Hey now!"

"Speaking of kids, should we even tell them about this akuma, or just wait for you to get swapped back? Who knows how they'll take it."

She hissed. "Good point. Maybe I'll just… Hang out in our room or something."

"Good idea. What should I tell them?"

"Uhm… Maybe that I had to go back and save a kitten from a tree?"

Adrien laughed as they landed in front of their happy little town house. "Sure thing."

She shot up to the roof and walked over to where their window was before lowering herself down in front of it.

"'Kids'? How many are there now…?" She asked herself, detransforming. She groaned. "Ugh, why didn't I ask that before? Maybe there's a picture around here with all of them. Scratch that, there has to be a picture around here somewhere.

Chat didn't know how he found himself stuck in a closet with Ladybug, but it was definitely not as fun as he had always dreamt it would be. Her earrings were beeping like crazy and she was giving him a lecture somewhere along the lines of 'Now don't go being crazy around her, or you might give her a heart attack, blah blah blah.'

He squeezed his eyes shut against the blinding pink flash as her Miraculous finally ran out.

When he slowly opened his eyes he choked in surprise.

Because in front of him stood a very stern looking Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

"MARINETTE?" He whisper-yelled. "You're Ladybug?"

"No, I just became a really awesome magician in the last twenty years. It's pretty cool, actually. I can do lots of stuff, like how I just switched places with Ladybug so you wouldn't find out who she was."

"Oh." Beat. "Alright then, that's cool too! Can you show me another trick? Like uh… Maybe bring Ladybug back?" He asked with a cheeky grin. He had been waiting to see who his Lady was for ages now.

Marinette groaned and rolled her eyes. "I was being sarcastic, Adrien."

"O-Oh. Well, that's even better!" As if it just hit him, he gasped and looked at her with wide eyes. "Holy crap…. Ladybug is Marinette Dupain-Cheng…"

"Yeah, don't worry about it too much." She replied.

"What do you mean? This is perfect! That means I don't have to choose between anyone anymore and- Wait. C-Can… Uh, can you tell me if we end up together?"

She pondered it for a moment, her arms crossed across the chest he was pointedly not looking at. "How about this: After we finish off this Akuma, ask Alya if you and Marinette are going to end up together, and go with whatever answer she gives."

"R-Really?"

"Mhmm." She said, nodding. She wasn't afraid of what Alya would say because Adrien had already instructed her when they were younger to tell him those exact words, and everything would be fine.

He let out a breath. "Alright, then. Let's kick some akuma butt!" With that he cataclysmed the door and Marinette- _Marinette_!- ran off in search of cookies for her kwami while he went to find the akuma.

"Alya!" Adrien called, rushing over to his friend when he made it back to school.

She stopped and turned around to look at him. "Yes, Adrien?"

He took a deep breath before spewing out the line future Marinette had given him.

"Are Marinette and I going to end up together?"

She stared at him with wide eyes, blinking a couple times, before laughing. "Of course you are! Boy, she's been crushing on you for ages now!"

"Oh, good, I- Wait, what?"

"Yeah, honestly it's so sad how you haven't noticed yet. But now you know! So you might wanna get a move on before someone else nabs her up!"

He nodded quickly, taking off again to find Marinette.

When he finally found her she was talking to Rose and Juleka about something.

"Marinette!" He called. The girl jumped with a shriek, whipping her head around and spotting him.

"A-A-A-Adrien!"

Oh she definitely knew, too. Her face was a new shade of red he hadn't see before and she looked about ready to have a seizure. So Adrien scraped his original idea of scooping her up and immediately taking her out to any restaurant and/or movie she wanted, and instead settled for plan b.

"Do you guys mind if I talk to Marinette real quick?" He asked Rose and Juleka.

"Wicked." Juleka breathed as Rose dragged her away in a fit of girlish giggles.

He waited until they were gone before turning back to Marinette with a bright smile. At her look he dimmed it down as much as he could manage. No wife, no life, and if he killed her now they would never get married.

"Marinette, I know you're-" He was cut off by her wheeze.

"I wasn't given enough warning for this!" She breathed out, looking like she had been scared half to death.

"What?"

"You stupid, frigging, troublesome cat! Next time you could at least tell me to be ready."

"Noted. Anyways, do you want to-"

She cut him off again with some gibberish he couldn't make out at all, but found cute either way.

"Marinette-"

"Am I dreaming?" She muttered, clutching at her pigtails.

He laughed. "No, you're not."

She looked at him with wide eyes. "Are you sure?"

If someone had told him a few hours ago that his Lady was this head over heels for him, he would have up and moved to an insane asylum. Now, standing here, he couldn't help but feel his heart soar with happiness.

Now, if only he could get her to stop talking so he could ask her out or something... !

When the next attempt to talk failed he gave up and leaned down, pressing his lips against hers.

She squeaked violently and rocked against him. He quickly caught her by the arms so she wouldn't fall over. When he pulled back she was smiling up at him dopily.

"Are you sure?" He asked, repeating her question from earlier.

She giggled, quiet and a little shaky. With pink flushed cheeks that made her freckles pop, she looked like the definition of adorable. "No, but feel free to keep trying to convince me."

He raised an eyebrow at that, smiling back at her. If she kept saying such un-Marinette-like things, he was definitely going to get whiplash. But as he leaned in for another kiss, he found he would gladly have whiplash for the rest of his life if it meant this was the future he had to look forward too.

And he had a good feeling it was.


	23. Day Twenty-Three: Fashion Show

**Fashion Show **

"Ok, now turn this way." Seven-year-old Marinette said, flapping her hand around in some random direction. Almost seven-year-old Adrien complied, turning in a totally different direction and shooting her two thumbs up.

Marinette giggled, making 'cltch!' noises every time she pressed the button on her fake camera. "Wow!" she said. "Look at that pose! The angles of his thumbs! Thenomonomanall!" She stammered out.

"I don't think that's how you say it…" Adrien said.

Marinette shrugged. "That's alright! Now turn this way." She said bossily.

Adrien shrugged and turned to face the other way, shooting Marinette and her camera a bright smile.

"Perfect!" Marinette cheered, clapping. "Maman!" She yelled towards the kitchen. "Hurry! We need the next outfit out here prontho!"

"I don't think that's how you say that, either."

"Who cares?!" Marinette threw her hands in the air. "What does it even matter? If we don't finish this show on time, we'll be toast!" With that she fell to the ground, a hand held to her forehead. "Wolf is me…" (Translation: Woe is me).

Adrien opened his mouth to comment once more before deciding against it with a shake of his head and a small smile.

Sabine laughed as she finally came around the corner, wiping her hands on a dish rag.

"Here you go, Dear." She said, handing over the clothes.

Marinette popped back up, taking the clothes. "You're a lifesaver!" Then she rushed over to Adrien and hurriedly pulled off the gigantic suit jacket off and passed over a blue striped shirt.

When Marinette had told Sabine that her and Adrien were going to put on a fashion show, the mother had decided to help raid her husband's closet for clothes they could use. At first she had tried to give Marinette some of her clothes, but she insisted on Adrien being the model while she took the pictures and threw together his outfits.

Sabine had merely chuckled at her daughter's enthusiasm and played along.

Which is why Tom came upstairs from the bakery to get a new shirt after he had sprayed himself with the sink on accident, only to find his clothes thrown around the living room, nearly burying the two kids who had fallen asleep in a pile of their own on the couch.

Sabine came in with her own camera- that wasn't fake- and took a few pictures.

Marinette and Adrien woke up to a 'cltch!' sound, two smiling bakers, and three dozen real pictures.


	24. Day Twenty-Four: Bridal Style

**Bridal Style **

"Akuma!" Alix shouted, jumping from her seat and rushing to the window. The once silent classroom roared now as the rest of the glass followed.

Marinette waited until everyone was at the windows before she got up from her own seat and snuck towards the door. Apparently, Adrien had the same idea.

"Marinette, where are you going?" He asked her.

"Oh, u-uh, I need to- Use the bathroom?"

He frowned at her. "But there's an akuma, you should stay here."

"B-But outside akuma is the." She laughed awkwardly. "I m-mean-"

"Alright, but I'll come with you. I uh, have to use the bathroom too. It's why I got up…"

"A-Alright…" Marinette sighed inwardly and accepted her doom as she followed Adrien out of the classroom. How would she explain why she never came out of the bathroom? She had to get to the akuma.

Once they were halfway to the restrooms the two teens found out the akuma was not outside anymore, and had worked its way in. Unfortunately they realized this too late, and both got zapped by the Akuma's awfully designed umbrella.

"I am Mix and Match! Soon everyone will learn to love mismatch things! Then, they won't be able to make fun of me anymore!" With that, the girl cackled and took off.

Marinette blinked in confusion before turning to look at Adrien.

"I don't feel any different. Do I look any different?" She asked. She was slightly surprised by her smooth speech, but perhaps it was from adren-

"Ehe, w-well I th-think the fine you all look time! I m-mean, yeah, you look great. No! No, you don't! I mean, no that you don't look great, you always do- not that I like you or anything! I mean-! Of course I like you, you're my friend! Uhm…"

Marinette looked at Adrien as if he had grown two heads. "Oh, no…"

"S-Sorry! I'll just, uhm… Go…" Before she could gather her wits about her and reply- is this how he felt literally every time she talked to him? Goodness- Adrien had turned on his heel and attempted to make a quick getaway, only to trip over his feet and hit the ground with a crash.

Marinette winced and hurried to help him up.

"Are you okay?"

Adrien stared up at her with sappy green eyes and she couldn't help but miss how her stomach would have flipped at his look on any normal day.

She sighed. "Alright, come on." He took her hand and started to stand, but cried out in pain when he put pressure on his ankle.

"Did you sprain it?" She asked.

"M-May-Maybe." The poor boy stammered, his face bright red. She noticed and put more space between them, trying not to kill him.

"Alright. I guess I'll just…" She trailed off, scooping him up with one arm around his shoulders and the other under his knees.

Adrien squeaked, and she couldn't help but giggle at the strange, alien noise. She could hear Mix and Match making her way back towards them, so she picked up her pace and took off down the hall. She couldn't bring him back to the classroom because then she wouldn't be able to leave again to transform. She saw an empty glass and quickly turned into there, closing the door behind her with her foot.

"Here, just, uh… Stay here." She said, setting him down on one of the benches. And using his crush idled brain as his distraction, she took off before he could try to stop her.

She finally- Finally!- Made it to the bathroom and transformed.

Ladybug came flying out of the bathroom in record time, looking this way and that for the Akuma.

I wonder when Chat Noir will show up. She though with a sigh before freezing.

Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no.

"Well… Can't let it bug me, I guess." She paused, going back over her sentence. "No!" She groaned. "This can't be happening to me!"

"What's wrong, Ladybug?" Chat asked as he came up behind her.

She squeaked, jumping at his sudden appearance. She turned to look at him, her stomach knotting as her chest grew tight. She gave him a love sick smile. "Nothing now that you're here, Chaton." When her words registered she queaked again and slapped both hands over her mouth.

He looked at her in shock, the top of his mask hidden way up in his fringe. "W-What?"

She couldn't believe this was happening to her. First with Adrien, now with Chat-

Wait. Wait.

Her and Adrien had switched, not her and Chat. So why…?

"OhmyGod, Adrien?!"

"M-M-Marinette?" He choked out. When she didn't dispute it he made a wheezing noise and proceeded to pass out.

"Oh no…" Ladybug groaned, looking at the ceiling. "Why me?" So, for the second time in the last twenty minutes, she scooped Adrien Agreste up bridal style and ran off before the Akuma came back. It would just have to wait a little longer, apparently.


	25. Day Twenty-Five: Protect

**Protect**

"-get her…"

"Maybe a bo...?"

Adrien frowned as he listened to people talk on the other side of the lockers. The room was empty besides him and whoever was talking. He silently shut his locker and inched his way to the end of the locker row.

"Will that work?" Nino.

"Of course it will. Marinette will never see this coming." And that was Alya.

What were they talking about? What was Marinette never going to see coming?

"Especially if we can use those blind folds you were talking about. Do her parents know?" Nino responded.

Blindfolds?!

"No, they don't. Which is perfect." Alya answered.

Adrien gasped silently and turned away from the corner. They were planning on kidnapping Marinette!

He heard footsteps and hurriedly ducked behind some lockers to hide from them. Once the door closed behind his "friends" he shot back up.

"Plagg!" He hissed. "They're going to kidnap Marinette!"

Plagg shot out from his shirtpocket.

"Oh no. Whatever will we do?"

Adrien missed the sarcasm and panicked. "I don't know! But, what are they going to do?!"

Plagg shrugged. "They probably want to kill her. That's what it sounded like to me."

"Oh my Gosh, Plagg! We have to protect her!"

Plagg rolled his eyes and then squeaked as Adrien snatched him from the air, taking off to find Marinette. In his haste, he forgot his backpack in his locker, where his phone was sitting. It buzzed a few minutes later, a new message from Nino popping up.

Meet us at the park, doing a surprise party for Marinette!

He couldn't find Marinette anywhere. Deciding she must have already left, he took off out the front doors and across the street. He burst in through the doors to the bakery and looked around with wide eyes and a crazy expression.

"Madame Cheng!" He exclaimed, running up to the counter. "Where's Marinette?!"

She passed the bag to the only customer without looking away from him with a knowing smile.

"Oh, Alya and Nino came over; took her to the park. It was kind of weird, actually! They had a blindfold on her and everything. You know what, now that I think about it, she looked like she was passed out." She placed a finger to her chin in mock thought.

Adrien gasped and turned on his heel, shooting out of the bakery.

"Oh no, oh no!" He panted, sprinting to the park. "Plagg, did you hear that? What if I'm too late?"

Plagg peeked his head out and looked up at his charge. "Oh, well, I guess that would be too bad. It would be a sad, sad world without Pigtails…"

"I can't let that happen, Plagg! I have to save her!" Adrien said, skirting into the park entrance.

There!

He saw Nino, Alya and half of his glass standing in a cluster.

"HEY!" He yelled, coming to a stop ten feet or so from them. "GIVE ME BACK MARINETTE!"

The chatter in the group stopped, and everyone turned to look at him. Nino frowned at his friend while Alya pulled her phone out to start tapping. Marinette blushed, causing Alix to-

Wait.

"Marinette?" He spluttered. "But-! I thought-!"

Alya started laughing. "What did you think, blondie?"

"You guys were talking about kidnapping Marinette! And then Madame Cheng said-"

"Bro, did you not get my message?" Nino asked.

"Uh… I- I left my phone in my locker, I think."

"We were talking about throwing Marinette a surprise party, to thank her for being such a good class Prez!" Alix said, sniggering at him. "Take a chill pill, Agreste."

"O-Oh…" Adrien said, a blush starting behind his ears. "Sorry…."

"Don't worry, Dude. Come party with us!"

Adrien joined the group, looking over Marinette. "So you're really okay?"

"Ehe, fine yeah me. I m-mean, you're fine. No! I mean-"

Adrien breathed out a sigh of relief, throwing an arm around her for half a hug.

"Thank Goodness you're fine, Marinette. I got really worried."

"Y-Yeah…" She said, staring at him with wide eyes.

"It was a really good idea to throw a party for you, though! You totally deserve it."

"Th-Thank y-you." She stuttered, looking really red.

He smiled down at her. "Come on, before Nino eats all the cake!"


	26. Day Twenty-Six: Civillian Heroes

**Civilian Heroes **

There had been a running joke, between most of the students. 'The day we see Chloe saving the day will be the beginning of the end of the world.' Or maybe just a dream.

So when Chloe returned the item she had stolen which led to an akuma, everyone was shocked. As soon as the akuma got back what it had wanted it stopped fighting, forcing Hawkmoth to retract the akuma's powers.

Paris had officially seen the moment where Chloe Bourgeois saved the day.

The students stood around in awe and slight terror. All eyes were on Chloe, which the blonde revelled in.

Alya's mouth had dropped open, her phone still pointed at the girl and the camera still live recording. Nino took his glasses off and wiped them clear, clumsily putting them back on.

No one could believe what they had just seen, but least of all Marinette.

She stood there in disbelief as Adrien slowly walked forward, joining her. She didn't say anything about his appearance, merely focused on Chloe.

"You saw that too, right?" He whispered, as if afraid to break the silent trance.

Marinette nodded before clearing her throat.

"We're quite obviously dreaming. Or the world is about to blow up. Either way, it doesn't really matter what happens, right?" She said, still staring at the girl. "I'm Ladybug."

Adrien choked, but she kept going. "And I've also had a crush on you since the first week you came to school. Scratch that, I'm basically madly in love with you."

"Y-Y-You… W-what…?" Adrien breathed, staring at the bluenette girl. She nodded as if she had simply told him the sky was blue and that was a widely known fact.

"...Lady...Bug?" He pushed away a piece of her hair, still getting no reaction. His fingers brushed against a dark stud earring.

He sucked in a gasp and jerked his hand back. "Oh my God…"

After all this time, he had finally found her. And due to Chloe, no less-!

"I'm in love with you, too!" He cried. Marinette sighed happily. "Mari!"

"Definitely dreaming."

Adrien wheezed. Did that mean his lady dreamed about him?

"I can't believe it… Marinette, it's me! I'm Chat Noir!"

She shushed him. "Don't ruin this moment."

"What?"

"Chat Noir tells me that all the time; I'm enjoying Adrien saying it."

"But, M'Lady- Adrien is Chat Noir! He tells you he loves you nearly every day!"

"Pfft." She giggled. "Impossible."

Adrien groaned, grabbing her shoulders and peering into her face. How hadn't he noticed before?! "Marinette, I'm Chat Noir!"

She shook her head. "Can't be."

"Alright; fine. But I am in love with you!"

Marinette smiled and slumped a bit in his arms. "M'kay."

Adrien laughed, pulling her into a tight hug with an ecstatic face. He would work on the rest later. All that mattered is that the girl he loved was in his arms, and she knew he loved her.


	27. Day 27: Marinette and the Agreste(s)

**Marinette and the Agreste(s) **

Don't get her wrong; Marinette definitely knew a lot was going to change when she got pregnant. Like, a lot a lot. Like, so much so that she was starting to worry she was actually in a comma. A comma that she has been in for a long, long, long time.

"Here. Drink this. It's high in things that the doctor said is good for developing babies." Marinette sighed and took the very large glass of a very disgusting paste like concoction.

"Not that I don't really appreciate it, but I'm already getting all of this stuff and then some. Isn't too much a bad thing?"

Gabriel shook his head. "Never. It's always good to go overboard with these things."

She made a face at the glass before taking a drink. "Alright."

"Ok, I'm back!" Adrien called, closing the door behind him.

"Thank God." Marinette groaned. "I thought you got kidnapped or something. What took so long?"

He hurried over to where she was swaddled on the couch and bent down to give her a happy kiss on the cheek with an even happier smile. "Oh, you know. There was a lot of long lines at this time and I had to go to three different stores."

"Blame your child." She grumbled, reaching out for the bags he was holding. She sighed happily as she pulled out the package of oreos. "How did you even find these?"

"There's a little cultural store for the tourists down by where Alya and Nino live."

"I love you so much." She said, going to open the package, only for Gabriel to take it from her hands.

"What-"

"You can't eat these; there's no way this is healthy for the baby."

"But-"

"Father, the doctor said it was alright to eat the stuff she was craving, unless it was specifically stated on the list of stuff she can't have, like sushi."

Marinette groaned. "You're not allowed to say that word!" She cried. She missed sushi. An no, not just because she was half Asian. Because sushi was just amazing, and she was allowed to miss it, dangit.

"Well, this should be on that list. Any food made in America should be on that list, really. I doubt any part of these are not manufactured in some plastic factory."

"It's just chocolate and cream. I'm sure it's not that terrible."

"Not that terrible? Fine, then. If you want your baby deformed, then go ahead."

"I just-"

"The baby won't be deformed, that's ridiculous!"

"Is it? I've been in your shoes, Adrien. I'm the one with experience."

"Yeah, well Mom only ever craved pumpkin and cucumber, so there wasn't any issue with that!"

"Ok, but-"

"Adrien. I just want what's best for my grandchild."

"WELL YOUR GRANDCHILD WANTS THE FRIGGING OREOS, AND YOUR DAUGHTER-IN-LAW- DOESN'T GIVE A CRAP ANYMORE, SO SHE'S GOING TO EAT THE FRIGGING OREOS, AND IF THE BABY IS DEFORMED THEN OH WELL." Marinette yelled, snatching her oreos back.

"Now, if you two don't mind, I'm going to make food that doesn't make me want to throw up.

Ignoring the protests of both Agreste men, she stood up and waddled towards the kitchen.

Marinette pulled out a bowl and filled it with milk before crushing up a bunch of oreos and graham crackers in it. Then she poured a glass of cranberry juice and waddled happily back to her spot on the couch.

"Ok, you can put the blankets back." Adrien practically dove to grab the blanket and cocoon her back up in it.

"Do you need anything else?" He asked.

"I'm going to check with the staff and make sure they're all doing alright with the designs I gave them for the baby clothes. I don't think half of them have even held a baby before, much less made clothing for one." Gabriel sniffed indignantly before striding out after making sure Marinette indeed didn't need anything else.

The door closed behind him and Marinette sighed.

"Not that it isn't great that your dad is finally coming around and being a part of everything, but he's starting to stress me out."

Adrien settled onto the couch arm behind her, rubbing her shoulders. "Oh, Mari. It's just because he wants to make sure you're doing alright. It's like he realized that he was a dad all over again; he's being pretty crazy with me, too. It'll just take some getting used to, is all."

"I knooow. And I'm happy he's all about being a dad for you again, it's great." She leaned her head back on his thigh. "I know it makes you feel a lot better and that makes me feel better. Less stress."

"Good." Adrien said, running a hand through her hair. "Stress is bad for the baby."

She groaned and threw a pillow at him .


	28. Day 28: Adrien Dupain-Cheng

**Adrien Dupain-Cheng**

Adrien loved Marinette's parents. There was no doubt about it. From making sure he was fed to all the puns he shared with Tom, he had fallen in love with the Dupain-Cheng family.

Especially Marinette.

Which was a problem, because he didn't want to give up on Ladybug.

But he wasn't blind, either. He saw the way all the guys usually looked at Mari, and he didn't want to miss his only chance. If he sat around and waited for Ladybug to love him- and let's face it, she was only ever going to see him as her best friend, her partner in crime fighting- then he might miss out completely on Marinette and then he'd be left with no one.

And really, what did Ladybug have that Marinette didn't? … Ok, besides from the suit and wicked yo-yo.

Nothing. The answer was nothing. In fact, the real question was what did Marinette have that Ladybug didn't?

Sure, she shared the amazing qualities of being brave, strong, beautiful, and quick-witted. But she was also so incredibly sweet, and soft, and giggly, and pink, and, and, and…

And he was pretty sure he was screwed, because once agai he had fallen into best friend territory. And really it was his own fault. When someone came over nearly every day to be practically pampered by the other's parents, they were sure to fall into the bro-zone. And he was in so deep.

He was in so deep, in fact, that when the bell rang and he scrambled to put his name on his test before he turned it in, he didn't even see his mistake.

But apparently Madame Bustier did, because she decided to point it out to him the next day at school.

"Chloe Bourgeois."

"Here."

"Alya Cesaire."

"Here."

"Marinette Dupain-cheng."

"Here, unfortunately."

"Adrien Dupain-Cheng."

Adrien had his hand half in the air and his mouth forming the word 'here' when it finally registered.

"Uh…"

Madame Bustier looked up from her roll call sheet with a smile. "Is something wrong, Mr. Dupain-Cheng?"

He heard Alya and Nino sniggering along with a few others in the glass and felt a blush work it's way out from behind his ears.

"I-I think you got my name mixed up…"

"Oh? But, that's what your test says."

"Wh-What?" He squeaked embarrassingly.

She held up his test, and sure enough, there it was.

He had written Adrien Dupain-Cheng on his frigging French test.

"I can explain."

"It's alright, Adrien. We all know Marinette and you are practically already married. I hadn't realized you were planning on taking her last name, though!" Madame Bustier gave a little laugh as the class roared in laughter. Except for Chloe, obviously.

"I-I-!" Adrien spluttered.

"It's okay, Adrien. You can have my last name if you really want it that bad." Marinette said with a violent giggle, holding her hand up over her mouth.

Adrien groaned outwardly, but on the inside, he was rejoicing. This was a good sign, right?That she wasn't angry, or weirded out at his slip up?

Deciding to push his luck, he said, "But I would so much rather you have my last name."

Marinette's eyes bugged out as she choked on her girlish giggles and her face burned dark red. "Er…."

"Marinette.exe has stopped responding." Alya said,waving a hand in front of her face.

"That's… a good thing, right?" Adrien asked.

"Hurry, slip a ring on her finger while she's already down." Nino said.

"What do you-"

"Adrien, I better receive a wedding invitation from you two." Madame Bustier said warningly before calling order back to her class. Adrien decided that if his teacher had seriously just gotten him Marinette, then of course he was inviting her to the wedding. Hell, he'd make her godmother of all his children, too. It was the least he could do.


	29. Day 29: Bien Joué

**Bien Joué**

"Good luck." Marinette snorted as the Slytherins passed the Hufflepuff quidditch team on their way to the field. "You'll need it."

"Hey!" One of the players called out, and she turned back with a single raised eyebrow.

"Yeah?"

Adrien Agreste, the bain of her existence, pushed forward and scowled at her. "What makes you so sure you'll win? We've gotten this far, haven't we?" He asked, motioning to his team.

Alix laughed. "Yeah, and it's as far as you'll get."

"Yeah, Agreste, don't get your hopes up." Marinette added, shooting him a smirk before turning to continue on her way.

"Let's make a bet!"

That got her attention.

"Oh?" She asked, turning back and facing him with her hands on her hips. "And what's that?"

"If Hufflepuff wins… You have to cheer for us at the next match."

Her smirk spread into a full out grin as she took a step closer, and another. She watched in satisfaction as Adrien gulped, frozen to his spot. "Alright." She said, taking another step so that they were toe to toe, and looked up at him with a smug expression. "And when we win, you have to wear my jersey to every Slytherin match for the rest of the season."

"Wh-What?!" He spluttered.

"Are you scared, Agreste?"

"N-No, of course not." He stammered, tugging at the collar of his own jersey. "Well, then, I'm changing mine. Whichever team wins, the loser has to wear the winners jersey. Deal?"

Marinette's stomach filled with butterflies at the thought of wearing Adrien's jersey, and she pondered losing on purpose. But she figured it would be much better to see him wear hers and get to play quidditch for the rest of the season.

She stuck her hand out. "Deal."

Adrien shook her hand, looking wary. When Marinette and the rest of the Slytherin team finally left, Nino hit his shoulder.

"Bro. Why would you do that?"

"I-I don't…"

"I don't think that was very smart…" Mylene said, Ivan nodding in agreement behind her.

"You better do a good job of blocking those goals, dude, or you'll be stuck wearing Marinette Dupain-Cheng's jersey for the rest of the year!"

Adrien looked at Nino, wondering briefly if that would be such a bad thing. He quickly shook his head, snapping out of it. Of course it would be a bad thing! He could see now the satisfied smirk she'd throw him before every game and all the new things she could mess with him over.

He groaned. This was proving to be the most stressful quidditch game all year.

Scratch that- most stressful quidditch game ever.

Slytherin made two goals on him within the first ten minutes, and he could practically feel the smug look Marinette was shooting him from her post way up above the rest of the game. He could only pray that Rose would find the snitch fast.

Adrien was growing increasingly more irritated as the game went on.

Anytime the quaffle got anywhere near the other end of the pitch, Kagami or Alix would scoop it right up and it would be heading towards him again. It was like he had doomed everyone when he made that bet. He had never seen the Slytherin team work so well or efficiently before. Although, he wasn't that surprised. He knew their whole house loved- no, adored- Marinette, and wouldn't let her down. Besides, it wouldn't only be an embarrassment for her if she had to wear a Hufflepuff's jersey, it would look bad for their whole house.

He was getting ready to block another of Kagami's throws when he saw Marinette dive towards the pitch out of the corner of his eye.

"No!" He yelled, looking around for Rose. But she was all the way at the other end, already doing her best to get to the snitch before Marinette. It was obvious to anyone with eyes that she wouldn't make it in time, but Adrien found his hope rising as the snitch got closer and closer to the ground. Surely Marinette would pull up soon and Rose would be able to snatch it, seeing as she was coming in at an angle and not straight down.

Ivan flew in front of him, hitting Kagami's pass away from the hoop it was about to enter.

"Adrien, pay attention!" He said gruffly, flying off again to get rid of another bludger.

"I'm trying!" Adrien wailed, catching the next attempt to score and tossing it to Mylene. She caught it flawlessly and took off down the pitch.

Now that it wasn't on his end, he looked back towards where Marinette had been.

"Marinette!" Someone yelled just as he found her. "Pull up! Pull up!" Adrien watched with wide eyes. "Why isn't she pulling up?!" She was close to the ground now, twenty, fifteen, ten feet. Rose turned, not wanting to collide with the girl who apparently wasn't planning on pulling away.

Just as she was about to smash into the grass she jerked her broom handle up, spinning it to give her more control. Her pigtails just barely brushed the ground as she reached out and snatched the snitch right out the air.

The entire Slytherin section roared with excitement and jumped up from their seats- if they hadn't already been standing to watch her do her crazy stunt- as the final score was put up and Alya announced that Slytherin had won. Again.

Adrien groaned and hung his head back, looking at the sky with a pained expression.

"Hey Agreste!" Marinette called as she flew past the Slytherin stands, holding her arm out for high fives. "Bien joué."

No one saw the finger he showed her, and if they did, they didn't mention it.

"Here you go, Agreste." Marinette said the next morning as she passed him in the dining hall. He looked up just in time to catch the green jersey she threw at him. She walked off without another word.

"Dude, I can't believe this." Nino whistled. "I feel so bad for you."

Adrien looked down at the jersey and grumbled, folding it up and putting it in his bag. "I did it to myself. It was a stupid bet."

Later, they were sitting in potions glass when Nino elbowed him and said,

"Do you think she even washed it?"

"Hu?"

"The jersey, do you think Dupain-Cheng even washed it?"

Adrien groaned. "I hope so. You don't think she would be that evil, do you?"

Nino shrugged. "She did get it to you awful fast."

Great. Just great.

When he got back to his dorm that night he pulled the jersey out of his bag and set it on the bed, looking at it as if it would blow up at any moment. Thinking back to Nino's words from earlier, he carefully picked it up and brought it to his nose.

Oh, it was definitely washed.

In fact, Adrien was horribly surprised at just how good her jersey smelled. God only knew how awful most of the uniforms smelled, even after being washed. But no, Dupain-Cheng's jersey smelled like vanilla and cherry blossoms.

He grabbed a hanger and carefully put it in his closet. The next Quidditch match wasn't for another two weeks, so he had a while before he would have to wear it and face the humiliation sure to come.

Except it didn't. Marinette hardly even said a word to him the whole two weeks, and when game day arrived, it was as if he didn't even exist.

He sat at the breakfast table, wearily watch her laugh and talk with her friends. He wasn't wearing the jersey yet, wanting to put it off as long as he could. He was expecting a 'Don't forget the jersey, Agreste,' at the very least when she left the dining hall, but she didn't even look his way.

"That was… weird." Nino commented.

"Mhmm." Adrien agreed.

They lost the match.

Slytherin actually lost the match. He couldn't believe it.

Marinette had tried to shoot him a smug look when the team flew out on the pitch, doing laps around the stands, but it looked pained. He couldn't figure out what was up with her lately, but he was a little worried. Never before had she passed up the opportunity to tease him.

And then the seekers had seen the snitch and took off towards it. It led them all the way around the pitch, level with the front row of people watching. Where he was sitting.

Marinette had been gaining on Max, coming so close to snatching it up once again when she passed him. And after that it all went downhill for her. Literally.

She fell right off the broom.

Everyone gasped, surging forward to see if she was okay. Adrien let out a breath when she rolled over with a groan and sat up, looking fine. Well, pissed, but fine.

"Dupain-Cheng! What the hell was that?!" Kim yelled, throwing his helmet to the ground as he marched angrily towards her.

"You were so close! What happened?" Alix demanded as she jogged over to the bluenette.

Marinette finally stood up, grabbing her broom that had landed a few feet from her, and rubbed her head.

"Uhm…"

"What got into you? You've never messed up like that before!"

That made her wince. "I'm sorry guys, I just…"

Kagami suddenly looked up, scanning the crowd, and spotted Adrien.

"It's cause he's wearing your jersey, isn't it?" She sneered.

"I-"

"Marinette!" The whole team groaned.

"Are you serious? This is ridiculous, utterly ridiculous!" Chloe scoffed, flicking her ponytail over her shoulder. "If you couldn't keep yourself together, why would you make such a stupid bet?"

"I didn't know-"

"That was foolish, Dupain-Cheng." Kagami said, glaring at her. "Now you made us lose, and to Ravenclaw no less."

"We're done for the season!" Kim and Alix wailed.

Marinette hung her head as her team slowly made their way towards the changing rooms. She had really messed up this time, and it cost them the Quidditch cup.

"I-It's okay, Marinette…" Nathaniel stuttered, walking over to her. The snitch was no longer in his hand and deflated more. She'd lost her last chance to put it away for the whole year. "You still did really good… It was a good game."

She sighed and tossed him a pained smile. "Thanks, I guess." He nodded before blushing brighter and walking off. The pitch was empty now, except for her, and so were most of the stands. She groaned and kicked at the ground, sending grass up in the air.

"Marinette?"

She stiffened and tried to throw a glare over her shoulder but failed.

"Are you alright?" Adrien asked.

"Yeah, sure, whatever. What do you want?" She grumbled, toeing the grass grumpily.

"I was gonna give you your jersey back…"

She scoffed. "Keep it, if you want it. I don't need it anymore."

"O-Oh." He looked around awkwardly. "W-Well… Don't feel bad. It was a really close game."

"Yeah, but we still lost because I fell of my bloody broom."

"Yeah, Uh…" he coughed. "Why did you fall off?"

"Wouldn't you like to know." She muttered.

"That's usually why people ask, Dupain-Cheng."

That time she managed to glare at him. The she sighed, saying something under her breath.

"I'm sorry? Come again." Adrien said.

"I fell off my bloody broom because I saw you wearing that bloody jersey!" She yelled, jabbing her finger in his direction.

He looked at her in slight fear as she advanced on him, poking him in the chest as she continued.

"And of course it was my bloody jersey because I made that stupid bloody bet and it distracted me and I slipped right off my bloody broom! So there, are you happy now?!" He continued to stare down at her in wide eyed shock. Her cheeks were pink from yelling at him- or maybe from something else- and she was breathing kind of heavy.

"Wh-y-" He cleared his throat when the word cracked and tried again. "Erm, why, exactly, do I… Distract you?"

She looked appalled at the question, taking a step back. "W-Well, I-"

A smirk spread across his face as they swapped positions and he took a step forward. He hadn't realized just how short she was before, he practically towered over her. Had she always been that short?

"Why did I distract you, Marinette?"

"B-B-Because I- uh…" She tugged at her collar and took another step back, only for him to take two more which put them almost nose to nose. "I… Uh… Forgot?" She squeaked.

Her response made his grin spread wider. "Are you lying?"

"N-No?"

He stepped back, laughing. "It's okay, I believe you." He really didn't. "Are you sure you don't want your jersey back?"

She blinked at him a few times before giving a shake of her head.

"Then I think I will keep it. I guess it's a good thing they're one size fits all, hu?"

He heard her wheeze as he turned and walked away, looking smug.

She was definitely lying. Bien Joué, indeed, Dupain-Cheng.


	30. Day 30: Us Against the World

**Us Against the World **

3 months, 25 days, and 6 hours.

Marinette had a countdown comprised of tick marks in a notebook in her backpack. She added a new one every night.

3 months, 25 days, and 6 hours since the world ended, and she was separated from her parents, on her own with only Nino beside her.

3 months, 25 days, and 6 hours since either of them have had an actual shower. Sometimes- when they were lucky- there was a relatively clean river or stream to wash down in, but no soap. And yet, they still didn't stink as bad as the world did now. They smelled of sweat and blood, not rotting flesh and smoke.

3 months, 25 days, and 6 hours since Marinette had seen her mother, her father, her classmates. She wondered who all was still alive. If her and Nino were the only ones.

3 months, 25 days, and 6 hours since she had had a good night's rest.

Now they were lucky to find an empty, secure house that was relatively warm in the approaching winter weather.

A glance at her busted up watch.

3 months, 25 days, and 7 hours since she had had bakery food. Or anything that wasn't mush. There had already been a point when they hadn't eaten in weeks and had resorted to some cans of cat food in a small corner store.

3 months, 25 days, and 7 hours since she could remember not being terrified every moment of every hour.

"Marinette." Nino whispered, stopping her.

Marinette looked at him with fear in her eyes.

"Do you hear them?"

She glanced around the trees surrounding them, trying to find any hint of movement as she listened. She could hear them. At least a few of the dead, coming towards their little path.

Nino unsheathed his machete and got into a fighting stance. Panicking, Marinette followed suit. She held her butcher knife out in front of her, wondering how many there would be.

They had been lucky so far, Never had they run into too many undead for her and Nino to escape from. But it didn't seem likely this time.

The first biter broke through the trees, it's moans and grunts getting louder at the sight of food.

Nino waited for it to get closer before burying his weapon in it's head. She stepped up and sunk her knife into the second's forehead, who had been blocking the third.

Marinette shrieked and fell as the third one reached for her.

"Marinette!" Nino yelled as he held off one of his own bitters. The last two had finally showed up as well, coming towards her.

She shrieked again as the fifth fell atop the one already at her feet that she was kicking at in vain. Tears rolled down her grimy cheeks as she screamed and yelled for Nino. The bitter grabbed her thigh and pulled herself up, opening her mouth wide to tear into her flesh.

The sound of the shot was hidden in the apex of her shriek, the teeth just inches from her leg as it slumped forward. The second shot could be heard, and the third.

Marinette gasped for air as she looked up at her savior.

Her heart skipped a beat as she was met with the greenest eyes set under a golden halo.

Blinking and holding a hand up to shield the sun, she saw it was only the way it glinted off his lemon blonde hair.

"Are you alright?" He asked, leaning down to help her up.

"I-" She croaked, staring at him with an open mouth. She had to crane her neck back to meet his eyes as he toward a head and a half over her.

"Marinette!" Nino said, running over and grabbing her. "Did you get bit?" He asked as he looked her over.

"That was really close, girl." Said another stranger with curly auburn hair pulled up in a ponytail.

"Y-Yeah." It was really close. Marinette's eyes flickered over to the man who had saved her.She murmured, "Th-Thank you."

He nodded. "No problem." Clearing his throat he looked around, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's a good thing we were coming through when we did. But we should probably ditch before more of them show up." He flashed Marinette a smirky grin. "You have a very loud shriek. I'm sure every zombie in the surrounding area for like ten miles heard you."

Marinette blushed as he turned to the girl with him. "Do you wanna get me out some more bullets? I don't wanna walk around with a half empty gun."

She nodded and popped some into his hand before turning to the other two.

"We should stick together, power in numbers, right?" She switched her bag into her left hand before leaning forward to shake their hands. "I'm Alya, and this is Adrien."

Marinette shook Alya's hand, eyes widening at the brute strength in it.

"Nino. And this is my dudette Marinette." Nino said as he smiled at Alya and shook her hand.

Alya smiled. "We heard."

Marinette's blush deepened.

"Hey, don't worry about it." Adrien said as he walked over to them and put a hand on her shoulder. "It's a good thing to have a loud scream; it's how we found you guys."

The four set off West once more, coming across only a few undead.

"Where are you two headed?" Alya asked.

Marinette shrugged. "We're just trying to find somewhere safe. Maybe somewhere along the water?"

Adrien nodded. "Sounds good. The farthest from any big cities the better. I heard Paris was really bad."

Nino swallowed. "It was."

Adrien studied Marinette's sorrowful expression and decided to change the subject.

"So… How do you two know each other?"

"Mari and I are best bros. Have been since first year of school." Nino said, hacking at some bushesin the way. "It was always us against the world."

"How about you two?" Marinette asked, glancing at him quickly. Adrien couldn't get over how incredibly blue her eyes were. Like how the sky used to be.

"I met Adrien a few years back when I was working on interviews for my college prep class. We've been friends since then. We were actually going to a show when this whole thing broke out." Alya answered.

Marinette nodded and the group fell into silence again.

"So, are you two…?" Nino and Adrien spoke at the same time. They shared a look over Mari's head- seeing as how the bluenette was at least a head shorter than Nino, who was in turn shorter than Adrien- and sized the other up. Seemingly finding nothing to dog the other for, they spoke again.

"No, we're not."

"Mari's practically my sister; that would be incest. No thanks, Bro."

"Cool, cool." Adrien said, playing as if he didn't care either way. Alya shot him a sly smirk that he ignored.

"Well, if you're my brother then we can safely say I got the good looks out of the two of us." Mari said to break the awkward silence. Nino guffawed and whacked away some more brush.

"Well then I got the brains."

"Nope, I got those too."

"Fine. Then I got the good taste."

"I'm the almost college grad fashion designer."

Adrien perked up. Something he could talk to her about. "You went to-"

"I meant in music, Sis."

Marinette clucked her tongue. "Jagged Stone is the best artist out there."

Adrien grinned at her. He was liking this girl more and more. "Oh definit-"

"Only if he's the best artist in the trash department." Nino snorted, cutting Adrien off again. The blonde shot him a glare while Alya chuckled and patted his shoulder.

"Good luck with that one, man." She said.

Adrien sighed and waited for the bickering to stop, while also filling away the info he gleamed about Marinette.

Her favorite color was pink, favorite singer was Jagged Stone, his father was her favorite fashion designer after some German chick, she was allergic to papaya, she had once dated a girl, she was half-Chinese, and she liked hamsters above all else.

They finally came to the end of the forest, coming out on top of a large hill that overlooked a dead field that went on and on and only ended where a hint of blue water could be seen frothing.

"There it is." Alya said.

"We were a lot closer than I thought." Nino added.

Adrien stepped up next to Marinette, grabbing her hand. She tensed up for a second, but quickly relaxed and squeezed his hand.

"Just us against the world." He whispered. Marinette was the only one who heard.


End file.
